As of January 2016, the following significant events happened in the Azerbaijani transport sector:
Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Ukraine signed a protocol on setting competitive preferential tariffs for cargo transportation via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route Jan. 14.
The document envisages setting the competitive preferential tariffs for cargo transportation via the Trans-Caspian route, carrying out comprehensive measures to facilitate the movement of trains via the route, and increasing cargo turnover.
In this regard, a container train will be launched from Illichivsk, Ukraine on Jan. 15 for a test journey through Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan to China, across the Caspian and Black seas.
Silk Way West Airlines launched a Baku-Komatsu direct freight flight. The first flight was made from the Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport to the Komatsu Airport on January 24, 2016. The cargo weighing 34 tons was transported. The regular flights via this route will be made by Boeing 747-8F Freighter twice a week.
Some 137.6 million passengers were transported in Azerbaijan in January 2016 or by one percent more than in the same period of 2015, according to the Azerbaijani State Statistics Committee's report as of January 2016 said.
The Azerbaijani transport sector carried 16.4 million tons of cargo or by 4.9 percent less than in January 2015.
According to a report, the volume of non-oil cargo decreased by 1.7 percent, reaching 11.6 million metric tons.
Around 78.1 percent of the total volume of goods transported accounted for the private sector during this period.
Some 57 percent of all cargo were transported by vehicles, 31.7 percent - by pipelines, 8.7 percent - by railway, 2.6 percent - by ships.
Some 137.6 million people used passenger transport in January 2016, which is 1 percent more than in the same period of 2015. Most of the passengers were transported by vehicles (87.6 percent) and metro (12.2 percent).
Automobile transport takes the lion share in the transport field of the country. Some 9.3 million tons of cargo were transported by vehicles, which is 2.8 percent more than in the same period of 2015.
The volume of passenger transportation hit 120.6 million people (a 2.5 percent growth compared to Jan. 2015). Some 96.5 percent of the passengers were transported by buses and 3.5 percent - by cars.
Freight turnover by vehicles increased by 2.8 percent during the reporting period, while passenger turnover - by 2.5 percent.
Some 1.4 million tons of cargo were transported by railway in January compared to 1.7 million tons in January 2015.
On average, the number of loaded carriages made up 342 and unloaded - 331. Average daily load of carriages in the northern direction is 15,000 tons and in western direction 3,600 tons and southern direction - 0,900 tons.
Around 0.42 million tons of cargo were transported by ships during this period compared to 0.8 million tons in January 2015. Some 38.6 percent of the transported goods accounted for oil cargo. The volume of goods handled in Azerbaijani ports amounted to 639,000 tons.
The volume of international transit cargo handled in the ports hit 89.3 percent. As of February 1, 2016, around 6,900 tons of import cargo left in the ports for transportation.
Some 3.7 million tons of oil were transported via main oil pipelines in January. Some 79.6 percent or 2.91 million tons of oil accounted for BTC.
Some 0,400 tons of transit oil were transported via the BTC in January.
Gas transportation via main gas pipelines made up 2.1 billion cubic meters in January 2016 or by 9 percent less than in January 2015. Some 31.4 percent of the transported gas fell to the South Caucasus Pipeline. Some 662.7 million cubic meters of gas were transported via this pipeline.
Some 114,600 passengers were transported by air transport in January which is 11 percent less than in January 2015. Some 0.1 percent of shipment by this kind of transport accounted for the private sector.
Some 16.8 million people were transported by metro decreasing by 8.2 percent compared to the same period of 2015.
Some 52.2 million metric tons of cargo were transported through the Eurasian transport corridor TRACECA (Europe-Caucasus-Asia) in 2015, the Azerbaijani State Statistics Committee said.
Around 58.7 percent of the total volume of transported cargo fell to vehicles, 29.7 percent - railway, 11.6 percent - ships. Some 18.2 percent of transported cargo accounted for transit goods.