Azerbaijan, Turkey agree on joint operation of freight rail cars

By Azernews

By Rasana Gasimova

The railway administrations of Azerbaijan and Turkey will jointly operate freight rails cars.

Representatives of Azerbaijan Railways and Turkish State Railways signed a document on the joint use of freight rail cars based on interchange, Azerbaijan Railways reported.

The agreement reflects the rules of international transport, the rules for loading, operating tariffs and obligations.

In addition, the agreement includes instructions on goods and compensations transported in wagons and reflects obligations to address claims in the event of total or partial loss of goods, their damage, and the rules for payment of damage.

The parties also agreed on the provision of spare parts, instructions for the case of damage to wagons, and appropriate compensation for damaged and lost wagons.

Note that Azerbaijan and Turkey cooperate in railway transportation through Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project.

The BTK railway was put into operation on October 30, 2017. The total length of the railway constructed on the basis a Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish intergovernmental agreement, is 826 km.

The project implementation began in 2007 and construction began in 2008. The line is intended to transport one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of freight at the first stage. This capacity will then reach 3 million passengers and 17 million tons of cargo.

The main purpose of the project was to improve economic relations between the three countries and attract foreign direct investment by connecting Europe and Asia.

Providing the shortest rail link between Europe and Asia, BTK plays an important role in the implementation of China's "One Belt, One Road" strategy and International North-South Transport Corridor.