Freight Transport resumes on Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway via Georgia

Following the completion of modernization and expansion works, freight transport has resumed on sections of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway passing through Georgia.

Jointly operated by Türkiye, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, the line was inaugurated on October 30, 2017, with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Türkiye and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan. It is a vital trade route via rail connections for the countries involved.

The railway, which extends 829 kilometers (515.1 miles) from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, passes through the Georgian cities of Tbilisi and Ahilkelek and reaches Kars in Türkiye.

It facilitates uninterrupted freight transport between Europe and China.

The railway line facilitates freight transport to Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and China.

However, in May 2023, Georgia demanded maintenance.

Following the completion of repair, reconstruction, modernization, and expansion works on the 184-kilometer section passing through Georgia, freight transport resumed on May 20, 2024.

The inaugural train, carrying 20 containers of 45 feet each and 632 tons of plastic raw materials from Azerbaijan, arrived at Kars Train Station at 4:50 p.m. After being inspected by customs officers at Kars Station, the train was directed to the Kars Logistics Center.

Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway Line facilitates the transport of construction materials, iron ore, manganese, borax, white goods, foodstuffs, cleaning products, marble, feldspar, MDF, soybean meal, fresh vegetables, and fruits from Türkiye to Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and China.

In return, Türkiye receives grain, cereals, fodder, walnuts, silicon, paper, rolled steel, copper cathode, zinc, fertilizers, chemicals and electronics.

The aim for block container trains running between China and Türkiye via the Middle Corridor and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway Line is to reach 200 block trains annually in the medium term and 1,500 block trains in the long term. Additionally, efforts are underway to reduce the travel time between China and Türkiye from 12 to 10 days.

The Kars Logistics Center, which will serve as a significant logistics hub for transportation conducted via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway Line and the Middle Corridor, was opened in May 2021.