BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 16
By Sadraddin Aghjayev - Trend:
Rail transport between Russia and Turkey will contribute to the expansion of trade ties between the two countries, including in the agricultural and metallurgical sectors, First Deputy Managing Director of the Russian Railways OJSC, Sergey Pavlov said, Trend reports citing the Turkish media.
According to Pavlov, the sending of the first container train from Turkey to Russia via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway, which reached its final destination on February 9, was an important step towards the expansion of railway trade, and will also contribute to the further growth of trade turnover between the two countries.
“We have established mutually beneficial cooperation with Turkey, which is based on historical ties and demonstrates stable and positive indicators,” he stressed.
Pavlov also said that thanks to the start of container traffic by rail, the volume of freight traffic between Russia and Turkey in 2020 exceeded 20 million tons, having shown an increase of 10 percent compared to 2019.
He expressed the readiness of the Russian side to take all necessary steps to ensure regular cargo transportation along the BTK railway route.
“According to our estimates, in terms of time and tariffs, this route will be more profitable than transportation by other means of transport. If we do not take into account the time of loading and unloading, the delivery time will be ten days, which is on average twice as fast as shipping by sea,” added Pavlov.
Besides, Pavlov noted that work is underway between Turkey and Russia to increase the share of rail transport in foreign trade.
“The railway sector is strategically important for Russia, and Russian Railways is one of the largest freight transport companies in the world. Of course, the beginning of direct rail transportation between our countries made this task easier,” Pavlov emphasized.
A new railway route along the BTK line was launched in 2017, and in May 2019, Russia and Turkey signed a memorandum of cooperation in the development of railway transportation.
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