First freight train runs on Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway

The first freight train containing 82 containers set off on the international Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) route. The train departed from Kustanai Station in Kazakhstan and is destined for the Mersin Station in Turkey, the AzRusTrans company announced.

An opening ceremony for the commissioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will be held on 30 October. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili will participate in the ceremony which is set to take place in Baku.

• The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway was built in accordance with the Azerbaijani-Georgian-Turkish interstate agreement. The project, which began in 2008, consists of reconnecting a railway line from Akhalkalaki station in Georgia with the railway station in Kars. The total length of the BTK is 826 kilometers.
•  During the first stage of BTK operations 1 million passengers are said to be transported along with 6.5 million tons of cargo. The volume of cargo transportation is expected to reach 17 million tons and 2 million passengers a year at the end of the second stage.

A more in-depth look at the political and economic aspect of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is available here:

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