Kazakhstan lauds Azerbaijan’s contribution to Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway

Azerbaijan plays an important role in the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars (BTK) railway project, according to Erland Kulshibayev, Deputy Chairman of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, Kazakhstan’s national railway company.

He said Azerbaijan made significant investments during the project’s implementation and modernisation, carrying out key infrastructure upgrades, Caliber.Az reports per local media.

Kulshibayev also stressed that the smooth operation of the railway has been ensured through close coordination and cooperation among the railways of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye.

The Baku–Tbilisi–Kars (BTK) railway is a major regional transport corridor linking Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye, developed to strengthen east–west freight connectivity across Eurasia and provide an alternative land route between Europe and Asia.

Construction began in 2007 as a trilateral infrastructure initiative aimed at improving regional trade integration and connecting the South Caucasus with the Turkish rail network through Georgia.

The line became operational in 2017 and forms a key segment of the “Middle Corridor,” a logistics route used for container transport between China, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Europe.

It spans roughly 850 km in total and is designed primarily for freight transport, significantly reducing transit time for cargo moving between Asia and European markets.

By Jeyhun Aghazada