In an era of growing vulnerability at maritime chokepoints, major economies are increasingly exploring alternative maritime and multimodal transport corridors. In recent years, India has focused on two major connectivity initiatives: the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). Despite the political will among participating countries to advance these projects, the wars in Ukraine and West Asia, along with economic sanctions on Russia and Iran, have constrained their progress and somewhat tempered India’s ambitions to establish alternative and reliable connectivity with Europe through these corridors.
Meanwhile, another major transformation in Eurasian connectivity is underway, driven by the rapid expansion of China-Europe freight transport. This transformation is important for understanding the changing dynamics of Eurasian connectivity. Since its first Chongqing–Duisburg train in 2011, the China- Railway Express has completed over 130,000 journeys in both directions, carrying goods worth more than $520 billion. In 2025 alone, more than 20,000 trains transported goods worth nearly $70 billion between China and Europe. By 10 June 2026, more than 10,000 train journeys had already transported over one million standard containers of goods in both directions. The China-Europe freight network now connects more than 120 Chinese cities with 235 cities across 26 European countries, making it an increasingly important component of the broader Eurasian connectivity architecture.
