Kars-Nakhchivan railway construction to be intensified
Construction of Nakhchivan-Kars (Turkey) railway link will be
activated after the commissioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway,
Azerbaijan Railways JSC said.
"The issue of the construction of Nakhchivan-Kars (Turkey) railway
is relevant and a more active process in the framework of this
project will proceed after the commissioning of the
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway," Company Spokesman Nadir Azmammadov
said.
Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic is in the blockade because of
Armenia`s occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands. The
communication with NAR is implemented either by air or by road
through Iran. Completion of the construction of the
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which would connect Azerbaijan and
Turkey will be possible by mid-2015.
As the head of the Azerbaijan Railways company Arif Asgarov told
earlier, the Azerbaijani side will re-develop the railway
independently however, the construction process in the Turkish
section will also be considered. Turkish side can implement this
work independently, but Azerbaijani side`s participation in any
form in this process is not excluded.
It is planned to reconstruct the section from the border with Iran
to Nakhchivan's Sadarak district, and to lay 10 more kilometres of
lines with the Nakhchivan- Kars railway project.
One billion manat is required for the Nakhchivan-Kars railway
project's implementation, according to the preliminary data.
Touching upon the work within the establishment of the
Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, Azmammadov noted that works continue,
and they are carried out in accordance with the set schedule.
Within the framework of preparation for commissioning of this
railway, a schedule will be worked out later - both freight and
passenger trains, according to the company`s spokesperson. "But
first and foremost, this railroad is important from the point of
cargo transportation," he said.
It is planned to construct a new 105-kilometre long railroad branch
line under the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project.
Aside from that, the Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Marabda railway section
will be reconstructed in Georgia, increasing its capacity to 15
million tons of cargo per year.
It is also planned to build a station at Akhalkalaki for transition
of trains from rail tracks in Georgia to the European ones.
The corridor's peak capacity will be 17 million tons of cargo per
year. At the initial stage this figure will stand at one million
passengers and 6.5 million tons of cargo.