Azerbaijan Railways is the national state-owned rail transport operator in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The 2918 km, gauge network is electrified at 3 kV (3,000 V) DC.[2] The headquarters of the Azerbaijan Railways is in the capital Baku.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 its railway system broke up into national railway systems of various former Soviet republics, from which the independent Republic of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijan Railways both emerged in that year.
The first railway line in Azerbaijan was laid in 1878 and was opened in 1880 in the suburbs outside Baku.[3]
The railway has 176 stations, 2 of which Biləcəri (in Baku) and Şirvan are completely automated, 12 stations have container courts with adapted mechanisms and machines, 3 stations – Keşlə (in Baku), Gəncə and Xırdalan are able to supply high cargo containers.
Along with the Kars–Tbilisi–Baku railway, a regional rail link project that directly connects Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan since 2017, the railway lines are being modernised in Azerbaijan with new fast rail stock to replace the old rail stock.[4]
History
1878–1917
The first railway line in Azerbaijan then belonging to the Russian Empire was laid in 1878 and was opened in 1880 within the suburban range of Baku, which led from Sabunçu to Suraxanı, today situated within the city of Baku. The track width corresponded to the Russian gauge.
The first long-distance railway line was opened in 1883, which led from Baku to Tbilisi in Georgia.
In 1900 railway lines were opened which connected Baku via Biləcəri with Derbent and Petrovsk (Makhachkala) in Dagestan and thus connected Azerbaijan with the rest of the Russian Empire (and later the Soviet Union).
In 1908 with extension of the railway line from Ararat in Armenia to Şərur and Julfa in the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan, this part of Azerbaijan was connected with Armenia.
Thus, the development of the Azerbaijani Railway was for the time being considered final.
1917–1991
Key indicators and areas of activity
Freight transportation
Passenger transportation
Currently, ADY trains operate on these routes:
- The trains operating on the Baku-Gazakh-Baku route make stops at Baku, Bilajari, Laki, Ujar, Yevlakh, Goran, Ganja, Deller, Govlar, Tovuz, Aghstafa and Gazakh stations. ...
International railway links with neighboring countries
- 🇷🇺 Russia - open - gauge.
- Georgia - open - gauge.
- 🇮🇷 Iran - open - break-of-gauge - - only via the Azerbaijani exclave Nakhchivan (Julfa/Jolfa railway bridge), a railway link with Azerbaijan proper is being built.<[10] See North–South Transport Corridor.
- 🇹🇷 Turkey - open - link to Turkey with break-of-gauge - from Georgia is opened on 30 October 2017. See Kars–Tbilisi–Baku railway. The rail line via Nakhchivan is under construction.<[11]
- 🇦🇲 Armenia - closed - gauge - closed due to ongoing hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Projects
International transport corridors
International North–South Transport Corridor
The North-South transport corridor is designed to deliver cargo from India and the Iranian Gulf region to Russia, Western Europe, the Baltic States and the Scandinavian countries.<[13] The main advantage of the North-South Transit Corridor compared to other routes is that the transit distance and transit time is two to three times less. If sea transportation takes 45-60 days through the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea to Helsinki, this period with the North-South Transit Corridor is 20-25 days.
The agreement on the establishment of the North-South international transport corridor was signed between the governments of Russia, Iran and India on September 12, 2000. The Republic of Azerbaijan acceded to this agreement on the basis of the Law of September 20, 2005.
The Middle Corridor
The Middle Corridor, or Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), serves to increase freight traffic from China to Turkey, as well as to the European Union, and vice versa.
See also
- Azerbaijan
- Rail transport in Azerbaijan
- Transport in Azerbaijan
- Chingiz Ildyrym
- Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway
- Zangezur corridor
External links
References
- Azerbaijan Railways' revenues from cargo, passenger transportation revealed Report News Agency, 2024-11-27, retrieved 2025-02-08^
- Azerbaijan Railways Indexmundi, 2021-09-18, retrieved 2023-08-07^
- The railway transport www.azerbaijans.com