BTK test train launching ceremony due in Georgia
By Amina Nazarli
The launching ceremony of the test train on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will be held on January 28.
The event will take place in Kartsakhi-Akhalkalakithe, territory of Georgia (Georgian-Turkish border), the Georgia Economy Ministry reported.
The ceremony will bring together Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Georgian Economy Minister and Ziya Mammadov, Azerbaijani Transport Minister.
The new railway, which will connect Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey together is planned to be opened by late 2015.
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is being constructed based on the Georgia-Azerbaijan-Turkish interstate agreement. The project is funded by the Azerbaijani State Oil Foundation in accordance with the country’s head decree on “Realization of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project” since February 21, 2007.
As part of the project, a new 105 km branch of the railway line is being constructed currently.
Moreover, the Akhalkalaki-Marabda -Tbilisi railway section is reconstructed which increases its capacity up to 15 million tons of cargo per a year.
A post transferring trains from a track in Georgia to Europe is being constructed in Akhalkalaki.
The project is expected to be finished in 2015. And the launch of the first test train is planned by the end of the year.
The capacity of the corridor will be 17 million tons per year. At the initial stage, the figure will be one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of cargo.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line is effective from an economic point of view. It is stable, and fully complies with environmental standards. It means the beginning of a new stage in the transport development.
This railway line will expand the multi-modal transportation opportunities and ensure the growth of passenger and freight transportation.
Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India have shown their interest in the project.
Earlier, Ziya Mammadov, Transport Minister said that after the third year of operation, the projected volume of cargo under the railway line will be three million tons, while after the fifth year - five million tons and after its tenth year the amount of cargo will constitute more than 10 million tons.
--
Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
Twitter:
@amina_nazarli
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz