Turkey Upgrades Eastern Rail Links to Reinforce Its Role in Eurasian Trade

Ankara, Turkey

By Maria Kalamatas | The Logistic News
May 27, 2025 – Section: Land

Turkey is accelerating work on a key section of its eastern rail infrastructure, aiming to strengthen its position as a bridge between Europe and Central Asia. The project focuses on modernizing tracks and freight terminals near the country’s eastern frontier, where trade flows into Georgia, Azerbaijan, and beyond.

The new corridor is part of a wider plan to support the so-called Middle Corridor — a multimodal route offering an alternative to traditional transit paths that pass through Russia or the Suez Canal. By investing in this eastward axis, Ankara hopes to reduce dependency on sea routes and capture a larger share of overland freight.

“We are not just investing in rail; we’re investing in access,” said Murat Arslan, a senior advisor at the Ministry of Transport. “This corridor gives Turkish exporters and transit partners a faster, more predictable option.”

The upgrades include electrified double-track systems, redesigned customs zones, and real-time logistics tracking to reduce delays. The government has also launched partnerships with Kazakhstan and Georgia to harmonize procedures across borders.

Freight traffic along this corridor has already seen a modest rise over the past 18 months, with projections suggesting a significant jump in volume once the current phase is completed. Industrial producers in Anatolia are among the first to benefit, using the line to ship machinery, textiles, and processed food eastward.

“Every day saved in transit creates value for exporters,” noted Elif Sancar, a trade economist in Istanbul. “Turkey’s location is an asset — this project is a way of unlocking it.”

With geopolitical shifts altering supply chain priorities across the region, Turkey’s rail investment comes at a crucial moment. As global firms seek stability and speed, overland corridors like this one may prove essential to future trade architecture.

✎ Maria Kalamatas
Senior Correspondent – Land Corridors & Strategic Trade
The Logistic News

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