Almaty: Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Trkiye have taken a significant step towards enhancing freight transportation capabilities by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the Transport Week event in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The MoU aims to bolster the use of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway line as a competitive and efficient freight corridor.

According to Azeri-Press News Agency, the agreement was signed by Rovshan Rustamov, Chairman of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC, Lasha Abashidze, General Director of Georgian Railways JSC, and Ufuk Yal§in, General Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors of TCDD Tasimacilik, the Turkish State Railways. The document outlines a collaborative effort to enhance the competitiveness of the BTK route by attracting additional cargo flows through optimized delivery times and competitive tariffs. These measures are designed to ensure stable freight transportation conditions and transparent pricing.

The MoU emphasizes the creation of a stable and predictable operating regime along the BTK line. It aims to improve conditions for cargo owners and increase transportation volumes while highlighting the importance of compliance with delivery times. The agreement specifies delivery time frames for various sections of the railway line: 24 hours for Alat - Boyuk Kesik and Gardabani - Akhalkalaki, 48 hours for Yalama - Boyuk Kesik, 60 hours for Kars - Mersin in Trkiye, and 70 hours for Kars - Istanbul. This arrangement enables cargo delivery from Alat to Mersin in four and a half days.