Azernews.Az

By Ayya Lmahamad

ADY Express LLC, a subsidiary of Azerbaijan Railways, transported grain and wheat bran from Russia to Turkey via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, the company reported on March 10.

Some 780 tons of grain in 13 wagons were sent from Russia’s Tatarskaya station, along with 480 tons of wheat bran in 8 grain-carrying wagons from Shadrinks stations.

After passing through Yalama station on the Russian-Azerbaijani border, goods were delivered to Boyuk-Kesik, then to Georgia’s Akhalkalaki station, and Turkey’s Kars.

Cargo transportation was carried out by ADY Express LLC with its partners Russia’s RJD Logistics, Georgia’s GR Logistics and Turkey’s Pacific Eurasia Logistics.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is more advantageous for the transportation of such cargoes than traditional maritime transportation. It is possible to carry out uninterrupted transportation of small volumes of cargo by BTK, which previously required shipowners to wait for the ship to be loaded at the port of Novorossiysk to ship the cargo to Turkey, and overloading operations were carried out at the port. In addition, the transportation of goods by BTK reduces transit time by 2 times.

ADY Express LLC has been set up considering Azerbaijan’s role as a major transit country due to high demand for railway freight services. The company provides online services to forwarders and large cargo owners to attract and increase the volume of transit cargo passing through the country.

Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad started operating in two-way mode recently. Initially, this transport corridor was used to transport goods from China to Europe.

The agreement on the construction of the railway, which was put into operation in 2017, was signed during the meeting in Tbilisi by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey in 2007.

The 828- kilometer Baku Tbilisi Kars railway stretch from the Azeri coast of the Caspian Sea to the Georgian capital, and from there to Turkey, connecting the country’s extensive railway system and thus gaining access to European borders.

As of today, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars cargo turnover is 6 million tons, passenger turnover is 1 million people. In the future, it may be increased to 3 million passengers and 20 million tons of cargo.

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Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad

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