Azerbaijan Railways and China explore increased rail services to Europe

Azerbaijan Railways (ADY) and China are discussing increasing the number of rail services to Europe.

Emil Mammadov, chairman of Azerbaijan Railways (ADY) CJSC, made this statement during the session "International Transport Corridors in the Black and Caspian Seas" at the "Black and Caspian Freight Forum 2024," Azernews reports.

"You know that for the past year we have been focused on the maintenance issues of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) corridor. We have completed the work, concentrating on the main operational and maintenance aspects, and the primary connection has been restored, which will operate from June 2024. Thanks to this, the transmission capacity of the line has increased from 1 million tons to 5 million tons," he noted.

According to him, currently, the BTK is the shortest and most convenient route for cargo transportation from Central Asian countries to Europe or Africa.

"In terms of connections between Azerbaijan and the Central Asian region of Turkiye, this is the shortest land route, which enables not only traditional cargo transportation but also continental rail supply. We are also discussing with our Chinese partners the possibility of increasing the number of rail routes to Europe, creating additional opportunities for China to enter the European market," he added.