BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 2. Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway line has been commissioned at full capacity after completion of upgrade work, Trend reports.
The official ceremony held in this regard marked the launch of the line by pressing a symbolic button.
Officials attending the event jointly pressed a symbolic button, announcing the start of a new phase of operations for the BTK railway after its modernization.
On May 18 in Baku, with the participation of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, the Minister of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan Rashad Nabiyev and the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia Mariam Kvrivishvili signed the Protocol of the 41st meeting of the Coordination Council for the rehabilitation, reconstruction, and construction of the railway section from Marabda to the border of Türkiye (Kartsakhi) within the framework of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars new railway line project. The document confirmed the completion and final acceptance of modernization works on the BTK project.
In 2024, Azerbaijan Railways CJSC carried out modernization works on the 184-kilometer section of the line passing through Georgia to enhance the capacity of the BTK, which is one of the key segments of the Middle Corridor.
The project, implemented in five stages, covered 13 railway stations, 55 bridges, eight traction substations, 320 buildings, and various engineering structures, including bridges, overpasses, and crossings. Within the framework of the project, a 30.3-kilometer new railway line, a wheelset replacement station, and rehabilitation and reconstruction works on the existing 153.1-kilometer railway section were carried out.
As a result, the annual cargo throughput capacity of the BTK railway has increased from 1 million tons to 5 million tons, making it one of the most efficient land transport routes connecting China and Central Asia with Europe.
