A new project has been implemented within the framework of cooperation among Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Russia: a Russia-bound export train to travel on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway has recently departed from Turkey.
The first freight train consisting of 15 containers with 150 tonnes of freight heading from Ankara to Moscow departed today at 11 a.m. (Tbilisi time). The train will cover a total of 4,650 kilometers on the BTK railway before reaching its destination. The train has to cover the distance in eight days.
The transport operators are as follows:
- The Pacific Eurasia Logistics (Turkey).
- The GR Logistics (Georgia).
- ADY Container (Azerbaijan).
- The Russian Railway Logistics.
Turkey started exporting cargo to China via the BTK route in late 2020, with two Turkey-China trains traveling on the BTK railway. The second train, similar to the first, was loaded with BSH refrigerators. Georgian experts say that similar activities on the BTK will have a positive economic effect.
Azerbaijan has also carried out exports via the BTK. In 2020, ADY Express Ltd., a subsidiary of Azerbaijan Railways, transported a total of 49,739 tonnes of export-oriented cargo on the BTK railway in 2020, out of which 97% was transit cargo and 3% imported. In 2019, the company transported a total of 25,722 tonnes.
According to the Georgian Minister of Economy, transported cargo volume from/to China on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway has increased by 371.9%
The Ministry of Economy of Georgia informed that in January and October of 2020, 2,343 TEU containers were transported from/to China via Georgia on the BTK railway, which exceeds the transported cargo volume (1,734 TEU) in the same period of 2019 by 35.1%
Georgian Minister of Economy Natia Turnava defined the BTK as the shortest route between China and Europe, with this reducing the cargo price and increasing Georgia's competitiveness. In Turnava's words, around 400,000 tons of cargo have been so far transported on the railroad.
Detailed information on the BTK railway is available here.
