Azerbaijan, Baku, 25 July / Trend / Turkey holds reconstruction work to speed the train movement via its territory within the framework of the railway Baku- Tbilisi - Kars, Bineli Yildirim, the Turkish Transport Minister, said in the interview to the TV channel CNN Turk.
According to the Minister, the train movement will reach 125km per hour after implementation of the project to 2011. Special reconstruction works are being held in railways to prevent decrease in train movement in Turkey.
The Azerbaijani Railway said the average speed for cargo train movement is 60km per hour. This index is optimal as the railway route will pass via the territory of Georgia and Turkey with difficult landscape conditions.
At present, the train from Baku to Kars goes per 24 hours, the Azerbaijani Railway said.
The founding ceremony of the Turkish section of the railway was held in Kars on 24 July with the Presidents of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia being in attendance.
About 1mln passengers and 6.5mln tons of cargo will be transported via the Baku- Tbilisi- Kars railway in the first stage. In 2034, the index will reach 3mln passengers and 18mln tons of cargo.
The Baku- Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki- Kars railway project includes the construction of 105km-railway lines, with 76 km section running via Turkey and 29 km section via Georgia. Moreover, 183 km section of Akhalkalaki-Marabda-Tbilisi railway will be also reconstructed to improve the carrying capacity to 15mln tons of cargo per year. It is planned to build in Akhalkalaki a facility for the transition of trains from the track existing in Georgia to the European one. The project is estimated at $422mln and including the accompanying infrastructure its cost will comprise $600mln.