First Train in Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway to Depart in 2 weeks

The first official train in Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway (BTK) will depart from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku with an official ceremony on October 30, Turkish Transport, Maritime and Communications Minister Ahmet Arslan announced Friday.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will also attend to the ceremony, Arslan added.

The BTK Railway project, completes the crucial railway link between Turkey and Azerbaijan, severed due to poor relations with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh row, by connecting the eastern Turkish province of Kars with the Azeri capital Baku on the Caspian Sea through the Georgian capital Tbilisi.

The railway will boost the freight transport between Turkey and landlocked Central Asian countries, while serving as an alternative trade route for the recently developing rail transport between Asia and Europe in general.