The news about the imminent resumption of passenger train services on the Baku-Tbilisi route was met with great enthusiasm in Azerbaijan. Before the pandemic and the closure of land borders, this was an extremely popular route, and many people had been eagerly awaiting its reopening.

Last year, the Georgian side also announced the launch of a train between Baku and Tbilisi, but at the time the information was not confirmed in Azerbaijan. This time, when Georgia even announced a specific date - 26 May - it was expected that Baku would once again deny the reports. However, JSC Azerbaijan Railways confirmed the Georgian announcement. A timetable has already been drawn up, and ticket prices have been published. As is now known, a trip from Baku to Tbilisi will cost 81 manats.

Trains on the Baku-Tbilisi-Baku route will depart from Baku daily at 23:10 and arrive in Tbilisi at 08:41 the following day. Services will depart from Tbilisi at 21:00 and arrive in Baku at 06:24 the next day. JSC Azerbaijan Railways reports that trains on the route will call at Baku Railway Station, as well as Bilajari, Yevlakh, Ganja, Aghstafa and Boyuk Kesik stations in Azerbaijan, and at Gardabani Station and Tbilisi Railway Station in Georgia.

The service is being restored in accordance with the joint communiqué signed between the governments of Azerbaijan and Georgia in Baku as part of the World Urban Forum (WUF13). The signing of a package of Azerbaijani-Georgian documents, including this communiqué, took place with the participation of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, who was in Baku to attend the forum.

Before the country’s land borders were closed due to the pandemic, Baku-Tbilisi trains operated every evening and were consistently fully booked. The Georgian route was in high demand. It is probably difficult to find a resident of the capital who has not travelled to Georgia by train at least once. The convenient schedule allowed people to visit the neighbouring country for a weekend or even for a single day.

It is worth noting that Baku Railway Station was used not only by Azerbaijani citizens. Many citizens of CIS countries and other states travelling to Georgia also used Azerbaijan Railways. There were particularly large numbers of Russian citizens travelling in transit through Baku to Tbilisi. After the occupation of Georgian territories, the Abkhazian railway was closed, interrupting rail connections between Georgia and Russia.

Shortly before the pandemic, in May 2019, the imminent launch of passenger services on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars route was announced. For this purpose, new sleeper carriages produced by the Swiss company Stadler Rail Group had been purchased. It was reported that the new trains would operate on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars-Istanbul route and reach speeds of up to 160 kilometres per hour. However, the trains never entered regular service. While Georgia and Türkiye were still upgrading their rail infrastructure, the pandemic struck and borders were closed.

Credit: Trend

During all these years, the Stadler trains remained idle at the station. Now, their period of inactivity has finally come to an end. It is already known that trains made up of modern sleeper carriages produced by Stadler Rail Group will operate on the Baku-Tbilisi-Baku route. This was confirmed to journalists by Azer Farajov, Head of the Passenger Transportation Department at JSC Azerbaijan Railways. According to him, the new carriages will replace the older trains previously used on the route. The trains that operated before the pandemic have already been retired.

Farajov noted that the next-generation carriages offer passengers a higher level of comfort, a modern interior, individual services and travel conditions that meet international standards. The new model is primarily designed for comfortable overnight journeys. The carriages are equipped with modern technological systems that improve both service quality and safety standards, he said.

The Baku-Tbilisi train will cover a distance of 560 kilometres in nine hours and 31 minutes and will run daily. For comparison, the Yerevan-Tbilisi train covers approximately 374 kilometres in 10 hours and operates every other day. While that line has seven main stations, the Baku-Tbilisi route will have eight. Experts estimate that the infrastructure on the Azerbaijan-Georgia line allows for higher speeds, and the fact that the service will operate daily indicates strong demand for the route.

In 2019, Azerbaijan purchased and tested new locomotives for passenger trains. Previously, freight locomotives produced in the 1970s had been used for passenger services. The Prima M4 locomotive produced by the French company Alstom can reach speeds of up to 160 kilometres per hour. The contract between Azerbaijan Railways and Alstom Transport SA was signed in May 2014. Under the agreement, Azerbaijan purchased 50 Alstom locomotives, of which 40 are intended for freight services and 10 for passenger operations.

Furthermore, according to Azerbaijani experts, the Baku-Tbilisi service could eventually be extended to Batumi. From 1 June, Georgia plans to launch the modernised Tbilisi-Batumi railway service, reducing travel time from five hours to four.

As for speed, this is influenced by the technical condition of the railway infrastructure and speed restrictions within Georgia. On Georgian territory, the train’s average speed will be around 50 kilometres per hour because the Gardabani-Tbilisi section remains in poor condition. From Baku to Boyuk Kesik station, the train will travel in six hours and 10 minutes. On Azerbaijani territory, the train’s average speed will be 100 kilometres per hour, as the railway infrastructure has been modernised.

“Thus, starting from 00:00 on 25 May 2026, despite the continued enforcement of the special quarantine regime, which includes the closure of Azerbaijan’s land borders, citizens of the country will be able to travel to Georgia and return by rail. The same right will be granted to all foreign citizens eligible for visa-free entry to Azerbaijan.”

By Tural Heybatov