Double-decker trains to run to Ganja
By Nigar Orujova
In the near future, Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku and the country’s second largest city, Ganja, will be connected with new electric trains.
The spokesman for Azerbaijani Railways, Nadir Azmammadov, said work is already underway on this project.
“As part of the ongoing new projects, it is planned to send the new double-decker trains up to Ganja. However, this issue is planned to be discussed after starting the electric trains on the railway line Baku-Sumgayit, which is scheduled for the beginning of the new academic year [September 15],” said Azmammadov.
The overhaul of the passenger section of the Baku-Khirdalan-Sumgayit railway line was completed in late August. All 63 km of the railway line have been renovated. Repair work on the railway started in March.
As of now, the electric trains that run between Azerbaijan’s two biggest cities, Baku and Sumgayit, on the Baku-Balajari-Sumgayit route arrive at their destination in an hour and 22 minutes. After the renovation, the time will be reduced to 40 minutes.
At present, Azerbaijan has three double-decker trains with two more trains to arrive by the end of the year.
The KISS double-decker electric railcar was produced at the Stadler Minsk factory by the Stadler Rail Group Company. The train has 396 seats, including 84 business class seats, and has a total capacity of 919 passengers.
A one-way ticket is expected to cost about 50-70 qepik ($0.47- $0.66) for the trip.
In the future, the trains will carry passengers on the 91 km long circular Baku-Sumgayit-Baku route, which is currently being renovated.
Ten trains are expected to operate on the circular route. The average speed on the new railway line will be 63 kilometers per hour. The rail line will have 23 stations and stops.
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Nigar Orujova is AzerNews’s staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @o_nigar
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