Azerbaijan, Baku, March 19 / Trend, M.Aliyev /
By late 2012, all the technical work to create the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway route will be fully completed and ready for operation in the first half of next year, Azerbaijani Transport Minister Ziya Mammadov told journalists on Monday.
He said at present, negotiations are underway with manufacturers from Spain to purchase new passenger trains which are planned to run on this route.
A new 105-kilometre railroad branch will be constructed as part of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway. About 76 kilometres will stretch via Turkey and 29 kilometres through Georgia. Moreover, an Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Marabda railway section will be reconstructed in Georgia to increase transport capacity of up to 15 million tons of cargo a year. A point of train transition from the existing tracks in Georgia to the European one is planned to be built in Akhalkalaki.
The railway's peak throughput capacity will make up to 17 million tons of cargo per year. At the initial stage this indicator will be equivalent to one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of cargo.