Lithium battery freight focus Air · Sea · Land assessment Document-first planning

Caucasus · Middle Corridor

Rail and road freight from China to Georgia

China to Georgia

Kuryk · Alat · Tbilisi · Poti · Batumi · Akhalkalaki

Corridor map: China to GeorgiaMap of land corridors between China and Georgia, drawn on one real projection with places at their latitude and longitude: Kuryk · Alat · Tbilisi · Poti · Batumi · Akhalkalaki. Georgia is outlined and shaded. Lines join the listed places and are not surveyed tracks or schedules. GEORGIAAZERBAIJANARMENIATURKEYRUSSIA 40°N45°E50°E TbilisiAkhalkalakiKurykAlatPotiBatumi 100 km Lines join the listed places; they are not surveyed tracks. Border crossingOrigin / destination
Corridor map: China to GeorgiaMap of land corridors between China and Georgia, drawn on one real projection with places at their latitude and longitude: Kuryk · Alat · Tbilisi · Poti · Batumi · Akhalkalaki. Georgia is outlined and shaded. Lines join the listed places and are not surveyed tracks or schedules. AZERBAIJANARMENIATURKEYRUSSIAIRAN 35°N40°N45°N45°E50°E TbilisiAkhalkalaki 250 km
  1. Kuryk
  2. Alat
  3. Tbilisi
  4. Poti
  5. Batumi
  6. AkhalkalakiBorder crossing

For cargo coming from China across the Caspian Sea, Georgia is the first country where both the Black Sea ports and the railway to Turkey are within reach. It is also where the customs rules for goods in transit were rewritten in 2025.

Ask about Georgia All rail & road corridors

At a glance

Georgia: three facts that shape the lane

Customs

A computerised transit system with a Georgian guarantee

The New Computerized Transit System made a Georgian guarantee mandatory for cargo leaving Georgia from 15 May 2025 and for cargo in transit from 1 June 2025; goods under a TIR carnet are exempt from the transit declaration.1

Road rules

ADR since 2016

Georgia acceded to ADR on 19 September 2016.2

Rail

A transhipment terminal at Akhalkalaki

The OECD describes a terminal at Akhalkalaki where containers change wagons between the broad gauge of the South Caucasus and Turkey's standard gauge.3

The corridor

Where the Georgian leg decides the plan

A consignee in Tbilisi receives an import; a consignee in Turkey or beyond receives a transit through Georgia, and the guarantee, the carrier and the border station are different in the two cases.1 That is why the first question we ask is where the cargo ends.

The Caspian leg before Georgia is a constraint of its own: the OECD reports that container and vessel capacity on the sea is not in line with needs.3 Lithium batteries are screened case by case, subject to operator and country acceptance.

An elevated electrified railway line with overhead wires beside green trees

Places on this page's map

  • Tbilisi. The capital, and the destination of the route page.
  • Poti. A Black Sea port on the Georgian coast.
  • Batumi. A second Black Sea port on the Georgian coast.
  • Akhalkalaki. The south-Georgian terminal where the gauge changes for Turkey.
  • Alat. The Azerbaijani Caspian port on the other side of the sea crossing.

Route pages

Lanes to Georgia from inland Chinese cities

Rail route

Lanzhou → Tbilisi

Lanzhou to Tbilisi on the Middle Corridor: gauge change at Alashankou, the Caspian ferry link, Georgian transit guarantees and ADR, and Chinese rail rules for lithium batteries.

Read the Lanzhou to Tbilisi route

Questions

Georgia: questions we are asked

Yes, for cargo transiting Georgia from 1 June 2025 under the computerised system.1

It is a main city on the way; the corridor continues to Turkey.3

By sea instead

Compare with sea freight from China

Choosing a mode

Each mode accepts lithium batteries on its own terms

Rail, road and sea operators apply different acceptance rules, and a shipment that is refused on one mode can sometimes be planned on another. We screen the cargo first and name the mode afterwards.

References

Where these points come from

  1. New Computerized Transit System in Georgia (TRACECA, 8 May 2025)
  2. Status of ADR – United Nations Treaty Collection, chapter XI-B-14 (United Nations Treaty Collection)
  3. Realising the Potential of the Middle Corridor (OECD)

Next step

Ask about China → Georgia

Ask about China → Georgia

Origin and destination are filled in; add the cargo facts you have.

Sending this form starts a review; it does not confirm carriage. Full enquiry form

After you send it

We check operator and country acceptance for China → Georgia before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.

All rail & road corridors · Sea routes from China

Need China → Georgia reviewed?

Share the cargo facts; we review the lane in writing.

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