Ticket cost for Baku-Tbilisi train reduced by almost one-third

Azerbaijan Railways has decided to decrease travel fees for a high-speed Baku-Tbilisi-Baku train starting from 1 April.
The train ticket costs before the price cut, including a bed and commission fee, were 30.16 Manat for a numbered reserved seat, 44.50 Manat for a compartment with four berths for sleeping and 83.77 Manat for a first class compartment with two berths for sleeping (USD17.43, USD 25.72 and USD 48.42). After the decrease, travel fares for a reserved seat is 24.54 AZN, place in a four-berth compartment – 35.32 Manat and for a first class compartment the cost is 58.43 Manat (USD 12.18; USD 20.42 and USD 33.77, respectively). This is a drop of 31 percent or almost one-third.
In comparison, a bus trip on the same route costs 20 Manat.
The travel time on a Baku-Tbilisi train is approximately 14 hours, including around 2-hour checks on both border crossings. On regular days, the train is comprised of six cars, including a sleeping car, three four-berth compartments and two others that are for numbered reserved seats. On public holidays, (Novruz, Kurban and New Year), given an increased number of passengers having vacations in Georgia, Azerbaijan Railways uses additional carriages. On the eve of Novruz this year, for example, five more cars were attached to the train but still the cars did not have a single empty seat.