TBILISI, June 4 – Georgia has finally put the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway into full operation, nearly 20 years after the project was launched. But transport expert Paata Tsagareishvili says the line enters service with old problems, weak cargo numbers and growing competition from Turkey’s wider railway plans in the South Caucasus. Tsagareishvili, director of the Transport … Read more
TBILISI, June 1 – The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line will officially enter full operation on Tuesday, Georgia’s economic development ministry announced, providing one key link in the transport chain between Asia and Europe. The line links Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey and is one of the region’s most important transport projects. Georgian officials say it will strengthen … Read more
TBILISI, April 15 – Claims that the railway in self-proclaimed Abkhazia could compete with the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars transport corridor are exaggerated, according to new report by the Transport Corridor Research Center (TCRC). The report was a response to recent public claims from the head of the container terminal in Ochamchire, who said the route through Abkhazia … Read more
TBILISI, October 20 – A new freight train service launched on October 15 shows the growing importance of the Middle Corridor transport route, linking China and Europe, via Central Asia and the South Caucasus. The route begins in Kashgar, China, and passes through Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan before entering Azerbaijan en route to the Caspian … Read more
TBILISI, October 8 – Turkey is pouring USD 1.6 billion into modernizing and electrifying its key east–west railway link from Divrigi to Kars and the Georgian border, but experts warn Georgia’s outdated infrastructure could limit the benefits of the project once it reaches the frontier. Transport researcher Davit Gochava told BPN that the new Turkish … Read more
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 … Read more