ASTANA – Kazakh Deputy Minister of Transport Zhanbiek Taizhanov attended the official opening ceremony of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway on June 2 at Akhalkalaki railway station in Georgia. Among those present was Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.
Following reconstruction, the railway’s annual freight capacity increased from 1 million to 5 million tons, reported the ministry’s press service on June 3. The BTK railway is a key part of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor.
It connects the rail networks of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Türkiye, improving freight transport from Kazakhstan across the Caspian Sea to Türkiye and Europe. The upgrade is expected to strengthen Kazakhstan’s transit potential, increase international cargo flows, and improve logistics efficiency across Eurasia.
The railway is 827 kilometers long and has been operating in test mode since 2017. Between May 2023 and May 2024, major modernization works were carried out, significantly boosting its capacity.