Lanzhou, Gansu
An inland rail hub on the way west to Xinjiang; the load must clear the Chinese rail safety check here before it goes anywhere.
Caucasus · Middle Corridor rail and ferry from Lanzhou
Rail from Lanzhou to Tbilisi via Alashankou, then the Caspian Sea
Lanzhou to Tbilisi
Lanzhou · Alashankou · Kuryk · Alat · Tbilisi
- LanzhouChina origin
- AlashankouBorder crossing
- Kuryk
- Alat
- TbilisiDestination
A Lanzhou–Tbilisi shipment is not a train all the way. It leaves China at Alashankou, crosses Kazakhstan to a Caspian port, goes onto a ship, and only then reaches the Azerbaijani and Georgian railways. Each of those hand-overs is a place where a lithium load can be refused.
Five points for the Caucasus end of the Middle Corridor follow. Lithium batteries are screened case by case and depend on every operator in the chain and on country acceptance.
What we need to start
- Operator that owns each leg
- Caspian booking
- Georgian transit guarantee
- Chinese rail documents
- Class 9 declaration
Route profile
How Lanzhou → Tbilisi differs from other lanes
Alashankou – Kuryk – Alat – Tbilisi
Rail across Kazakhstan, a Caspian sea leg between Kuryk and Alat, then Azerbaijani and Georgian rail or road to Tbilisi.
Where this route gets difficult
What to watch between Lanzhou and Tbilisi: 5 points
They run from the Chinese origin station to the border, through the transit countries and to the consignee.
- Caspian
The sea crossing is the narrowest part of the corridor
The OECD reports that container and vessel fleet capacity on the Caspian Sea is not in line with needs, leading to congestion, and puts the throughput capacity of the Kazakh port of Aktau at an estimated 15 million tonnes (21 million with Kuryk) and Azerbaijan's Alat at 15 million tonnes and 100,000 TEU.1 A box that is ready on land can still wait for a berth and a ship.
What Anxin does: We ask for the ship leg to be named in the quote as a separate booking with its own acceptance of class 9 cargo.
- Ferry operator
The ferry line between Kuryk and Alat was reorganised in 2025
Report.az wrote in June 2025 that regular Kuryk–Alat–Kuryk ferry trips would start in September 2025, using new ferries moved to a Kazakh company's management and flying the Kazakh flag.2 When a vessel operator or flag changes, the dangerous-goods acceptance rules of the line can change too.
What Anxin does: We ask the operator for its current written position on lithium batteries on that ferry before we quote.
- Georgian customs
Transit through Georgia now runs on a computerised guarantee system
Under Georgia's New Computerized Transit System a Georgian guarantee became mandatory for cargo leaving Georgia from 15 May 2025 and for cargo transiting from 1 June 2025, and the system covers road and sea transit; goods moved under a TIR carnet do not need a transit declaration in the system.3 For a consignee in Tbilisi this is an import, but if the cargo is meant to continue to Poti or beyond, the guarantee belongs in the plan.
What Anxin does: We ask the Georgian broker whether Tbilisi is the end of the movement and, if not, who provides the guarantee.
- Georgian road leg
Georgia has been an ADR party since September 2016
Georgia acceded to ADR on 19 September 2016,4 so a truck delivering from a rail terminal is working under the European road agreement. ADR 2025 added special provision 677, which assigns transport category 0 to damaged or defective cells and batteries that are liable to rapid disassembly, dangerous reaction, flame or a dangerous release of gases,5 a practical reason to keep any damaged unit off the shipment.
What Anxin does: We ask the Georgian haulier for an ADR document set and refuse any unit we cannot show to be undamaged.
- Origin rules
Chinese rail packaging rules apply before the border does
China's rail guidance requires packaging to meet the TB/T 2687-2020 standard including drop and stacking tests, and says lithium-ion batteries should be at no more than 30% state of charge for the railway dangerous-goods number 91045.6 Damaged, defective, recalled and waste batteries should not be carried by rail at all.6
What Anxin does: We ask the maker for the state of charge and packaging test evidence on the first reply, so a rejection at Lanzhou does not become a surprise at the Caspian.
Documents & compliance
Documents to line up for Lanzhou → Tbilisi
These documents come from the shipper, the manufacturer, the operators and the consignee. Anxin checks them against each other; it does not issue test reports, safety data sheets or import certificates.
At Lanzhou
- Four Chinese rail documents
- State of charge and Wh ratings
- Packing photos and load plan
At the Caspian
- Named ferry or ship operator
- Written class 9 acceptance for that leg
- Holding point if the berth is full
In Georgia
- Broker and consignee in Tbilisi
- Transit guarantee if cargo continues
- ADR haulier for the last leg
Risk & mitigation
What could go wrong between Lanzhou and Tbilisi, and who acts
| Risk | Where | Mitigation | Who acts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ship space or berth not available | Kuryk / Alat | Separate booking; holding point named | Ferry operator |
| Operator changes acceptance rules | Caspian ferry | Written current position requested | Operator |
| Rail refusal at origin | Lanzhou | Documents and state of charge checked first | Shipper / maker |
| Cargo continues without a transit guarantee | Georgia | Plan confirmed with the Georgian broker | Georgian broker |
Questions
Lanzhou → Tbilisi: questions we are asked
Not as one continuous run: the corridor includes a Caspian sea crossing.1 Whether a single operator offers a through booking is confirmed case by case.
Under the computerised system, a Georgian guarantee is mandatory for cargo transiting Georgia from 1 June 2025.3
Yes. Georgia acceded on 19 September 2016.4
By sea instead
Compare with sea freight from China
Nine Chinese ports, one hub
Sea freight leaves from Shenzhen, Shanghai, Ningbo, Qingdao, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Dalian and Lianyungang. See all sea routes from China. The sea route pages also cover Shenzhen to Georgia.
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
- Realising the Potential of the Middle Corridor (OECD)
- Kuryk-Alat-Kuryk regular ferry trips to start in September (Report.az, 24 June 2025)
- New Computerized Transit System in Georgia (TRACECA, 8 May 2025)
- Status of ADR – United Nations Treaty Collection, chapter XI-B-14 (United Nations Treaty Collection)
- Beförderung kritisch defekter Lithium-Ionen-Batterien: Sondervorschrift 677 des ADR 2025 (KomNet) (KomNet, State of North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany))
- 国铁运输监〔2023〕26号 关于消费型锂电池货物铁路运输工作的指导意见 (Guidance on rail transport of consumer lithium battery cargo) (National Railway Administration, MIIT and China State Railway Group)
Next step
Ask about Lanzhou → Tbilisi (Georgia)
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After you send it
We check operator and country acceptance for Lanzhou → Tbilisi before any booking, and ask for missing battery documents first.
Georgia overview · All rail & road routes · Sea routes from China
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