The railway connecting Europe and Central Asia has been expanded, avoiding Armenia and Russia
The modernized and expanded Georgian segment of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway will resume freight operations this month, thus allowing the connection from Central Asia (and therefore from China) to Turkey with even heavy trains.
Rovshan Rustamov, President of Azerbaijan Railways (ADY), announced that freight operations on the BTK Railway will resume on May 20, representing a significant milestone after extensive repair, restoration, reconstruction and expansion efforts along the 184-kilometer stretch of the Georgian segment of the railway.
“Following the expansion, BTK's annual handling capacity increased from 1 million tons to 5 million tons,” Rustamov said in an interview with state news agency Azertag.
“The main purpose of modernizing this railway line is to increase the competitiveness of the Middle Corridor and transform the BTK into one of the main transportation arteries in the region,” he added.
The decision to expand the Georgian section of the BTK was motivated by a comprehensive reassessment in 2022, five years after its inauguration. Despite the challenging terrain and harsh climate, a new project plan, integrating an international project management system based on global standards, facilitated the completion of the works.
As part of the five-phase modernization project, a total of 61 kilometers of railway tracks, 98 kilometers of contact network lines, 172 kilometers of 10 kV cables and 338 kilometers of fiber optic cables were installed. Furthermore, pedestrian and car roads along a 41 kilometer stretch were asphalted.
The 826-kilometer BTK line, which connects the Azerbaijan railway network to the Türkiye railway network, offers a faster and more accessible rail connection between China, Central Asia and Europe. Passing from Baku through Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, to Kars in northeastern Turkey, it significantly reduces the overland journey between China and Europe to just 15 days, compared to the previous 25-45 days.
Once they arrive in Kars, Turkey, the trains enter the routes that lead to Europe on one side or to the Middle East on the other.
Once fully operational, the modernized BTK railway is expected to handle annual cargo deliveries of up to 17 million tonnes, offering a substantial boost to Azerbaijan's rail transit capacity.
If we evaluate the route, which you can see in the image below, you can see how this carefully avoids Armenia. taking a detour and passing through Georgia. This is due to the conflict situation that until recently was fought between Armenia and Azerbaijan. This expansion, paradoxically, accentuated the isolation in the Yerevan area
Meanwhile, last year alone, ADY transit freight reached 6.8 million tons, compared to 3.8 million tons in 2019, according to Rustamov.
“With the modernized BTK railway, we can now transport more goods faster. In other words, as the annual cargo volume increases from 1 million tons to 5 million tons, transportation volumes and speeds across our country, both east-west and opposite, will receive a boost ", he highlighted.
Collaborating on the potential of this railway, Azerbaijan and Georgia are about to create a joint venture. Scheduled to launch this month, this partnership aims to efficiently operate and maximize the utility of the BTK.
Furthermore, the revamped BTK is expected to accommodate more block trains, especially those traveling from China to European markets on the Middle Corridor. In the first four months of this year alone, the Middle Corridor facilitated a total of 34 block trains, which collectively transported 6,319 TEUs of containers. Among these, 10 were transit freight trains carrying 4,020 TEU, while the remaining 24 trains carried import cargo, for a total of 2,299 TEU.
Thanks to our Telegram channel you can stay updated on the publication of new Economic Scenarios articles.
The article Expanded the railway connecting Europe and Central Asia, avoiding Armenia and Russia comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/ampliata-la-ferrovia-che-collega-europa-e-asia-centrale-evitando-armenia-e-russia/ on Wed, 15 May 2024 16:09:52 +0000.