Azerbaijan Railway Construction and Maintenance
According to official statistics, there are more than 2,932 km of railways in Azerbaijan, with 2,117 km
currently in use. This includes 815 km of double track railways, mostly in the northern (Baku‐Yalama)
and western (Baku‐ Boyuk Kesik) directions. Some 60% of the railways or 1,272 km are electric,
which are mostly along the international corridors with the exception of the 183 km southern
segment of the NSTC linking Yeni Osmanli to Astara. Out of 121 rail stations that could be used for
freight handling, at least three (Ganja, Keshla and Khirdalan) have the capacity to store and handle
large containers. The Port of Baku also has a rail access point where containers can be processed.
Although the total cargo carried by railways(in tons) has increased from 23.2 million to 28.3 million
between 2000 and 2010, rail transport in 2010 accounted for only 13% of total cargo transportation,
having dropped from 22% in 2000 . This decrease is largely due to the significant increase in the
volume of exported and transited oil, of which the majority is carried by pipelines rather than rail.
Today, oil and petroleum products constitute 76% of the outgoing rail freight (2009 data).
Construction materials are an other important export,making up 16% of total outgoing cargo in
2009.Most of the cargo is transported in tank cars and wagons owned by Azerbaijan
Railways(ADY),which was transformed into a Joint Stock Company by a Presidential decree from July
20, 2009.It was further divided into four subsidiaries: Infrastructure, Passenger Services, Freight,
Capital Rehabilitation and Maintenance. This was the first step towards reforming the inefficient
state‐owned Azerbaijan State Railway Company (ADDY), the predecessor of ADY, and to create a
financially stable railway sector in the country, which is yet to happen.
Although the ADY fleet directory still lists a large number of railway locomotives(237 in 2009),
passenger coaches(725), and freight cars/wagons(18,526),24 most of them are either obsolete
(about 40‐45 years old) or in need of repair. In addition, the level of investment in motorways has
been far higher than in railways. For example, between 2004 and 2008, just $83 million was invested
in the country’s railway sector, while in 2008‐2009 alone, the motorways received over $3.3 billion.
As of 2010, the railway sector isfinally receiving the attention and investment it deserves. The State
Program on Improvement of Railway Systems in 2010‐2014,signed by President Aliyev on 6 July
2010, will increase the competitiveness of ADY and help the company rebuild its outdated fleet. This
document highlights the railway sector’s short‐ and mid‐term objectives and investment schemes up
until 2014. If it is adhered to, this program will eliminate the majority of the outstanding issues in
this sector and bring the country’s railway system up to international standards. Specific actions
include: the ADY will be subject to further corporatization reforms in order that it can adequately
respond to the demands of the market economy, and prepare for increased traffic via Azerbaijan;
the railways along the TRACECA and the NSTC routes will be modernized; the electric lines will be
upgraded to a kV alternate constant current; and the ADY fleet will be substantially renovated (by
rehabilitating existing wagons, tank cars, depots and more than 50 locomotives, and by purchasing
additional 50 ACelectric locomotives,tank cars for oil, dry cargo wagons and new equipment).
The modernization of ADY will coincide with the completion of the strategic railway link between
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey (Baku‐Tbilisi‐Kars (BTK) project). Thanks to the $200 million long‐
term loan Azerbaijan gave to Georgia, construction of the Kars‐Akhalkalaki railway
(Georgia‐Turkey segment) started in 2009 and completed in 2012. The Azerbaijani government is
currently negotiating anothersoft loan for Georgia in the amount of $500 million. A 29 km segment
of the railway is under construction in Georgia, and another 76 km segment is being built in Turkey.
Once finished, the railway will process between 2 and 5 million tons of cargo per year in the
shortterm, and up to 20 million tons of cargo and 3 million passengers annually by 2034. The Kars‐
Akhalkalaki railway will eliminate the missing link in Euro‐Asian rail transportation and effectively
create a new Eurasian rail corridor through Azerbaijan stretching from China to Europe.