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ANALYTICS
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Railway transportation promises big for Azerbaijan Rising star of East-West, North-South mega corridors / INFOGRAPHIC

18 July 2023 15:39

The first half of 2023 can fairly be deemed as successful for the Azerbaijan Railways Company (ADY) given an increase in both cargo and passenger transportation since the start of the year.

Transportation of cargo and passengers via the railways in Azerbaijan in January-June of this year outclassed the same indicators of the previous years.

According to data presented to Caliber.Az by ADY, during the first six months of 2023 a total of 9.1 million tonnes of cargo were transported, showing a 7 per cent increase from the same period in 2022.

A total of 3.2 million people used railway services for their travels in the same period, which is 52 per cent more than in the first half of the previous year.

ADY’s net profit in the same period stood at $50 million. From January-June to 2022, the company bagged $12 million from the transportation of cargo and passengers.

The main artery of the railway grid of Azerbaijan is the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) route. The 826-kilometre-long BTK line links Azerbaijan’s railway network to the railroad grid of Türkiye and enables an easier and faster rail connection between China, Central Asia, and Europe. Starting in Baku trains on BTK rails cut through Georgia’s capital Tbilisi towards the final destination of Kars in northeast Türkiye.

A 504-kilometre portion of BTK passes through Azerbaijan, while Georgia and Türkiye are home to 263-kilometre and 79-kilometre sections of the railroad, respectively. After plugging into the Turkish railway grid, BTK enables cargo supplies to as far as the Duisburg city of Germany.

From its inception in 2017 to early 2023, more than 1.5 million tonnes of cargo were shipped on the BTK railway. The total amount of goods deliveries via the railroad amounted to 432,284 tons in 2022, showing a nearly 30 per cent increase from 2021.

The BTK railroad cuts the overland journey between China and Europe to 15 days instead of 25-45, making it twice as fast as sea transport and less than half the price of air travel.

The ceremony for the opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, October 2017

In its full swing, annual cargo deliveries on the line will reportedly reach 17 million tons. In October 2022, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said the transportation capacity of BTK will be increased to 5 million tons of cargo per year and Baku has already developed investment programs.

Meanwhile, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars also forms part of a 5,000-kilometer-long Middle Corridor stretching from the northwestern Edirne province of Türkiye to the Katonkaragay district on the eastern edge of Kazakhstan.

Established in 1880, the railway system in Azerbaijan is the busiest and largest in the South Caucasus region spanning over 2,900 kilometres.

The Azerbaijani government has spared no effort to upgrade both the fleet and technical capabilities of the national railway. Currently, 60 per cent of the overall 2,910-kilometer railway grid is electrified. The obsolete Soviet-era cars have been replaced with cutting-edge coaches purchased from leading global manufacturers Alstom of France and Stadler of Switzerland.

"KISS" brand trains of STADLER operated by ADY

Currently, the fleet of ADY contains nine “KISS” brand electric trains, as well as 20 cutting-edge coaches manufactured by STADLER. In addition, the company operates ten passenger locomotives of the ALSTOM brand.

İn January 2023, ADY launched a locomotive depot in the second-largest Ganja city of Azerbaijan. The all-new facility has almost remodelled the city’s role as a transportation hub along the East-West Transport Corridor passing through it.

A two-story platform in the main repair zone of the depot allows for refitting 6 locomotives simultaneously and uninterruptedly. The locomotive depot is equipped with cutting-edge equipment and devices procured from the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Italy, Türkiye, the Republic of Korea, China, Russia, and a number of other countries. Part of the power generation at the facility will be provided by 350 solar panels.

The increasing investment in the railway infrastructure testifies to the big interest of the Azerbaijani authorities in positioning the country in a highly beneficial place on the global transportation map. The investments are arguably going to fetch even bigger successes given also the location of Azerbaijan – at the crossroads of East and West, North and South.

Caliber.Az
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