BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 2. Baku-Tbilisi-Kars
(BTK) railway line has been commissioned at full capacity after
completion of upgrade work, Trend reports.
The official ceremony held in this regard marked the launch of
the line by pressing a symbolic button.
Officials attending the event jointly pressed a symbolic button,
announcing the start of a new phase of operations for the BTK
railway after its modernization.
On May 18 in Baku, with the participation of the President of
the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Georgian Prime Minister
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Minister of Digital Development and
Transport of Azerbaijan Rashad Nabiyev and the Minister of Economy
and Sustainable Development of Georgia Mariam Kvrivishvili signed
the Protocol of the 41st meeting of the Coordination Council for
the rehabilitation, reconstruction, and construction of the railway
section from Marabda to the border of Türkiye (Kartsakhi) within
the framework of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars new railway line project.
The document confirmed the completion and final acceptance of
modernization works on the BTK project.
In 2024, Azerbaijan Railways CJSC carried out modernization
works on the 184-kilometer section of the line passing through
Georgia to enhance the capacity of the BTK, which is one of the key
segments of the Middle Corridor.
The project, implemented in five stages, covered 13 railway
stations, 55 bridges, eight traction substations, 320 buildings,
and various engineering structures, including bridges, overpasses,
and crossings. Within the framework of the project, a
30.3-kilometer new railway line, a wheelset replacement station,
and rehabilitation and reconstruction works on the existing
153.1-kilometer railway section were carried out.
As a result, the annual cargo throughput capacity of the BTK
railway has increased from 1 million tons to 5 million tons, making
it one of the most efficient land transport routes connecting China
and Central Asia with Europe.
