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Freight wagons sent via BTK railway

26 June 2018 13:17 (UTC+04:00)
Freight wagons sent via BTK railway

By Sara Israfilbayova

Freight wagons from Russia to Turkey were shipped via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway for the first time.

“AzRusTrans” CJSC together with ADY Express Ltd. transported grain from Russia to Kars in grain hoppers.Grain in 12 wagons from Orenburg region, was brought to the station Akhalkalaki, and after the replacement of wheel sets, the wagons were sent to Kars. The cargo has already arrived at Kars station.

Until now, the cargoes on the BTK railway were transported only by containers. At the station of Akhalkalaki, the cargo was transferred to other platforms coming from Turkey and continued its way.

On October 30, a solemn ceremony on the occasion of the opening of the BTK railway was held at the Baku International Sea Trade Port. Two trains from Kazakhstan to Turkish Mersin have already been sent via this route. The first train, consisting of 30 containers, on November 4, delivered 600 tons of wheat to the Turkish city of Mersin. The second freight train left Kazakhstan on November 27. The train has already reached Georgia.

The BTK railway is constructed on the basis of the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey intergovernmental agreement. The main purpose of the project is to improve economic relations between the three countries and attract foreign direct investment by connecting Europe and Asia.

In fact, the BTK railway route is the shortest way to deliver cargo from the Russian regions located in the Volga, Ural and Siberian Federal Districts to the Mediterranean ports of Turkey, and further to the countries of Africa and the Middle East.

The project implementation began in 2007 and construction began in 2008. The line is intended to transport one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of freight at the first stage. This capacity will then reach 3 million passengers and 17 million tons of cargo.

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Sara Israfilbayova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Sara_999Is

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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