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Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye sign MoU to boost freight via Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway

01 October 2025 18:05 (UTC +04:00)

As part of the Transport Week held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the Chairman of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC (ADY), Rovshan Rustamov, the General Director of Georgian Railways JSC, Lasha Abashidze, and the General Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors of TCDD Taşımacılık, the Turkish State Railways, Ufuk Yalçın, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the Organization of Freight Transportation via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway Line, ADY told APA.

With this document, the parties agreed to increase the competitiveness of the BTK route compared to other transport corridors, attract additional cargo flows to this route with optimized delivery times, and apply competitive tariffs that ensure stable conditions for freight transportation and the formation of transparent prices.

The aim was to create a stable and predictable operating regime along the BTK line, improve conditions for cargo owners and increase the volume of transportation, and it was emphasized that compliance with delivery times is a key element of the attractiveness of the BTK route for shippers.

According to the agreement, the delivery time (excluding customs and border procedures) in the Alat - Boyuk Kesik and Gardabani - Akhalkalaki sections was set at no more than 24 hours, and in the Yalama - Boyuk Kesik section at no more than 48 hours. This period was set at no more than 60 hours in the Kars - Mersin section in Türkiye, and at no more than 70 hours in the Kars - Istanbul section. Thus, it will be possible to deliver cargo from Alat to Mersin in 4 and a half days.