TBILISI, October 6 – A new push to link major rail corridors across the South Caucasus and Turkey could soon give the region a powerful boost as a trade bridge between Asia and Europe.
Azerbaijan Railways chairman Rovshan Rustamov said that the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars (BTK) railway and the planned Zangezur Corridor will together form a “unified network” to support cargo flows and expand regional transit potential, according to Azerbaijani outlet Report, quoted by BPN.
The BTK line, which runs through Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey, already serves as the main cargo artery between the three countries. Rustamov described it as a vital part of the region’s transport system.
Traffic on the route continues to climb. In the first nine months of this year, 296 block trains from China passed along the Middle Corridor, 113 of them in transit, compared with 213 trains during the same period last year, Rustamov said.
On October 1, the railway authorities of Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding on organizing cargo transportation via the BTK line. The document lays out steps to make the corridor faster, more reliable, and more competitive, including infrastructure upgrades, renewal of rolling stock, and streamlined operations. The three countries also plan tighter coordination as cargo volumes rise.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has tied the Zangezur Corridor project to wider regional ambitions. He has said the new route, connecting Baku with Nakhchivan and Turkey’s Kars region, will join the existing BTK railway and, together with Georgia’s Black Sea ports, open further opportunities for freight traffic.
The Zangezur Corridor would cross Armenia’s southern Syunik province, linking Azerbaijan’s mainland to its western exclave, Nakhchivan. While details of the project remain politically sensitive, its backers say it could create a direct overland link from the Caspian Sea to Turkey.
Meanwhile, Turkish project manager Osman Beserek said construction of the railway between Turkey’s Kars and Igdir and Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan is already underway. Once integrated with the BTK line, the route is expected to cut passenger travel time between Central Asia and Europe from 18 to 12 days. Trains on the line will operate at speeds of up to 160 km/h, Beserek said.
