Azerbaijan Railways and China are discussing the possibility of increasing the number of railroad services to Europe, the Advisor to Azerbaijan Railways CJSC chairperson Emil Mammadov said in a statement at the session titled “International Transport Corridors in the Black and Caspian Seas” at the Black Sea-Caspian Freight Forum 2024 in Baku.

“As you know, over the last year we have been engaged in the maintenance of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) corridor. We have completed the work, focusing on key operational and maintenance aspects, and since June 2024, the basic connection has been resumed and is now operational. This has increased the capacity of the line from 1 million tons to 5 million tons,” he noted.

According to him, the BTK is currently the shortest and perhaps the most convenient route to deliver cargo from Central Asian countries to Europe or Africa.

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“In terms of the connection between Türkiye and the region of Azerbaijan or Central Asia, it also remains the shortest landline that allows not only traditional freight transportation but also continental rail deliveries. Moreover, we are in talks with our Chinese partners about the possibility of increasing the number of rail routes to Europe, which will be an additional opportunity for China to enter the European market,” he added.