Continental routes for the delivery of goods from China to Europe and back over the past decade have come a long way, from test train shipments to the creation of stable, full-fledged railway container transportation routes. 

The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) runs through China, Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and further through the Black Sea to Europe. The TITR is a multimodal route that involves two modes of transport: rail and sea.