The Eurasian Transport Network is a system of interconnected latitudinal and meridional international transport corridors and routes promoting Eurasia’s intra- and transcontinental connectivity. The backbone of the Eurasian Transport Network consists of international transport corridors crossing the Eurasian landmass along East West and North-South axes, linking Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
The Eurasian Transport Network includes five main international transport corridors — the Northern, Central, and Southern Eurasian Corridors, TRACECA and the INSTC, complemented by branch lines and regional routes totalling over 50,000 km.
In recent years, as a key regional institution supporting the development and implementation of diverse infrastructure projects, the EDB has conceptualised and placed the Eurasian Transport Network on the public agenda. The concept of the Eurasian Transport Network is based on the idea that interconnection and complementarity of Eurasian transport corridors is important to improve connectivity, reduce trade costs, and facilitate access to international markets, especially for landlocked developing countries (LLDCs).
In 2023, total international freight traffic along the five corridors exceeded 260 million tonnes, including 3.6 million containers. Compared with 2013, the volume of international container traffic has more than tripled. This remarkable success has been achieved through the implementation of large-scale infrastructure projects, the commissioning of new rail lines and roads, the improvement of transport and logistics infrastructure, and the creation of efficient container services that have been able to divert some of the freight traffic from deep-sea routes to land transport systems in Eurasia.
The Northern Eurasian Corridor, linking Europe and Asia through Russia and including the Trans-Siberian Mainline and EATL road route No. 1 to the ports of the Far East with branch lines running to China and Mongolia—China, continues to play a leading role in ensuring Eurasian land transport links. In 2023, this corridor accounted for over 62% of total international land freight traffic along the five corridors, including 72% of the total number of containers transported (2.6 million TEU). Transit container traffic decreased in 2022–2023. Of the total, only 0.3 million TEU were transported in transit in 2023.
The Northern Eurasian Corridor is predominantly rail-based, with road transport accounting for only 3% of the total international freight traffic. However, road transport plays an important role in trade between Russia and China, with its freight traffic of 3.8 million tonnes in 2023, and the share of long-haul transport in traffic with China continues to grow.
The Central Eurasian Corridor leads in the development of container services, providing the shortest route between China, the EAEU countries, and Western Europe. In 2023, this corridor accounted for 5.7% of the total tonnage of international freight volume but for 25.3% of the number of containers delivered. In 2023, 892,000 TEU were transported through two border crossing points — Dostyk and Altynkol — of which 211,100 TEU was China—EU—China traffic and 462,900 TEU was China—EAEU— China traffic. Since 2018, China’s container transit has increased by a factor of 4.2.
