Kars – Tbilisi railway line

Kars – Akhalkalaki (–Tbilisi – Baku)
Route length:	105 km
Gauge :	1435 mm / 1520 mm
Power system :	3000 V  =
Power system :	25 kV / 50 Hz (standard gauge)  ~
Maximum slope :	35  ‰
Legend from Ankara and Istanbul Haydarpaşa 0 Kars to Gyumri ( Armenia ) 76 Turkey / Georgia Kartsakhi 160 Akhalkalaki Samsg. 152 Akhalkalaki Stav. 102 Lane changing station Achalkalaki 1700 m above sea level 142 Ninozminda 140 Kilometer 140 134 Bagdanovka 117 Pokani 110 Gandsani 99 Taparawani 2160 m above sea level (Vertex) 94 Achali Chulgumo 87 Ayasmi 78 Trialet 69 Zalka 59 Bedeni 43 Nardabasewi 29 Tetri-Zkaro 18th Zinzkaro 8th Zchra-Dsma Tbilisi – Yerevan railway line 0 / 23.1 Marabda 17.8 Kumisi 11.2 Krzanisi according to Weli 7th Ponitschala Railway line Poti – Baku to Baku 5.7 Navtlugi 4.0 Kilometer 2508 3.0 Kilometer 2507 1.0 Kilometer 2505 0 Tbilisi Central Railway Station Railway Poti – Baku to Batumi

The Kars – Tbilisi railway line exists

• from a 105 km long standard gauge new line (NBS) from Kars to Achalkalaki and the
• Existing route Tbilisi -Achalkalaki in Russian broad gauge , in Marabda , 23 km south of Tbilisi, from the railway Tbilisi-Yerevan branches.

Political importance

This railway line gives Georgia and Azerbaijan a connection to the European railway network without having to use Russian or Armenian railway lines. It is seen by the participating countries as a strategic connection between Asia and Europe with great development potential.

history

prehistory

In the course of the Ankara – Achurian railway line , there was a rail border crossing between Turkey and the Soviet Union since 1964 with the option of changing lanes between the standard gauge of 1435 mm (Turkey) and the Russian broad gauge of 1520 mm (Soviet Union / Armenia). Passenger traffic was stopped here at the end of 1988, freight traffic in 1990. After Armenia's independence in 1991 and the subsequent profound differences between Turkey and Armenia, the only rail border crossing that existed between them was never reopened.

New line

construction

Due to this political situation, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey began to plan the construction of a new cross-border route between Kars (Turkey) and Akhalkalaki (Georgia) and the expansion of the subsequent routes. After about 15 years, a contract was signed on January 13, 2007 in the Georgian capital Tbilisi .

Construction work on the Georgian side began on October 21, 2007 with the groundbreaking ceremony. Originally, the route should be completed in 2010. The work was interrupted by the Caucasus War in August 2008. On the Turkish side, 76 kilometers of track had to be built. The groundbreaking ceremony for the Turkish section took place on July 24, 2008. Engineering structures , superstructure , catenary and substations of the upgraded line were renewed or newly built.

Openings

On July 19, 2017, the Turkish Minister of Transport Ahmet Arslan , the Georgian Minister of Economic Affairs, Dimitri Kumsishvili , and the directors of the railways of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan opened the Turkish section of the route and toured the construction site of the border tunnel. Another preview took place on September 27, 2017 by high-ranking representatives of the railways of Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

On September 27, 2017, the first passenger train drove from Tbilisi to Akhalkalaki, where the new - but not yet fully completed - reception building was opened.

On October 30, 2017, the Kars – Baku rail link was officially opened with a ceremony in Baku.

→ Main article : Kars – Akhalkalaki – Tbilisi – Baku railway line

financing

Turkey assumed the cost of building the 76-kilometer section on its territory. This was estimated at 300 million US dollars . Azerbaijan provided Georgia with a loan of 775 million US dollars for 25 years in two installments for the new construction of the remaining 26-kilometer route and the expansion of the 153-kilometer-long Akhalkalaki – Marabda section. Of this, $ 200 million is one percent interest and the remainder is five percent interest. There is an option to extend the term of the contract by 25 years.

Total investment in the Akhalkalaki region is expected to be US $ 300 million and the total cost of the project has been estimated at US $ 600 million.

Infrastructure

route

In Georgia, 29 kilometers of track had to be relocated to connect Akhalkalaki to the Turkish border. This also includes the 26.1-kilometer standard-gauge line between the border tunnel and the new gauge changing station Akhalkalaki in Georgia.

The 160-kilometer existing Marabda – Achalkalaki line was opened in three sections between 1982 and 1986. It branches off from the Tbilisi – Yerevan railway line in Marabda . In Tbilisi there is a transition to the Poti – Baku line. The existing line between Akhalkalaki and Tbilisi has been upgraded.

Border tunnel

The 4.5 kilometer long tunnel under the Turkish-Georgian border is the most complex structure on the new line. It was also completed last.

Lane changing station

The lane change station Akhalkalaki is located about 6 kilometers south of the former head station Akhalkalaki Samsg. , which was shut down together with the access route leading to it . The tracks were completely or largely dismantled.

business

Freight transport

According to official announcements, the capacity of the route is designed for a freight volume of 5 million tons and one million passengers per year. By 2030, the transport capacity is to be increased to 17 million tons per year. All goods have to be reloaded in Achalkalaki due to the change of lane. The freight station in Akhalkalaki has not yet been completed, nor is the electrification from the station to the section of the route coming from Turkey and on to the border tunnel (as of January 2018).

passenger traffic

Continuous passenger traffic has not yet taken place. The gauging system required for through traffic does not yet exist. A system of the Rafil type is planned .

The Azerbaijan Railway has ordered 30 passenger carriages from Stadler Rail , five of which have been manufactured. Production was interrupted after payment deadlines were not met. The cars that have already been completed are parked in Switzerland.

literature

• Brett Forest: The Path of Dreams . In: National Geographic Germany 10/2010. Gruner + Jahr , Hamburg 2010, pp. 114–139.
• gbs / hjs: Tbilisi - Akhalkalaki - Kars route . In: IBSE telegram 290 (1/2015), p. 8.
• NN: Commissioning of the Baku - Tbilisi - Kars Railway Line . In: OSJD Bulletin 5 (2017). ISSN 2391-9027, pp. 1f.
• Neil Robinson: World Rail Atlas . Vol. 8: The Middle East and Caucasus . 2006. ISBN 954-12-0128-8 .
• zbin: Extension and new line Baku - Tbilisi - Kars officially opened . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International 1/2018, pp. 30–32.

Web links

• Britain to China by rail: the Kars-Akhalkalaki railway ( Memento of September 28, 2008 in the Internet Archive ). In: National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers (RMT) v. September 29, 2006, accessed May 22, 2019.
• Iron Silk Road . Der Standard Online, March 16, 2007.
• Metin Usta: The Possible Effects of the KATB Project over the Caucasus Politics (PDF; 114 kB).

Remarks

1. ↑ There are - depending on the source - slightly different information on the length of the new line: 105 km (NN: Commissioning , p. 1); 110 km ( report from Railway Gazette International of October 30, 2017, reproduced in: HaRakevet 119 (2017), p. 13).
2. ↑ In his opening speech, the Turkish President even spoke of 6.5 million tons per year ( report from Railway Gazette International of October 30, 2017, reproduced in: HaRakevet 119 (2017), p. 13).
3. ↑ This meant approx. 2700 travelers per day. However, the capacity of the three trains commissioned to operate the route is only less than a tenth of this forecast.
4. ↑ In his opening speech, the Turkish President named the year 2034 for this value ( report from Railway Gazette International of October 30, 2017, reproduced in: HaRakevet 119 (2017), p. 13).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Azerbaijan: First freight train on the Baku – Tbilisi – Kars railway line leaves the port of Baku. In: Locomotive Report . October 31, 2017, accessed October 31, 2017 . 
2. ↑ Robinson, p. 52.
3. ↑ BTK demiryolu projesinin temeli atıldı , CNNTÜRK , accessed October 21, 2007
4. ↑ zbin: upgraded and new line , p. 31.
5. ↑ "Demirden Ipekyolu" now atıldı temeli , CNNTürk , accessed on 24 July 2008
6. ↑ zbin: upgraded and new line , p. 31.
7. ^ Message from Railway Gazette International of July 24, 2017, reproduced in: HaRakevet 119 (2017), p. 13; zbin: upgraded and new line , p. 31.
8. ^ NN: Commissioning , p. 2.
9. ↑ zbin: upgraded and new line , p. 31.
10. ↑ IBSE-Telegram, edition 2004, November 2007, p. 5f.
11. ↑ Иосиф Кубатьян: Баку - Тбилиси - Карс оставляет Армению вне игры? October 30, 2017. Retrieved October 31, 2017 (Russian). 
12. ^ Tbilisi, Baku Agree on Funding of Regional Railway Link , Civil Georgia, January 13, 2007, accessed March 17, 2007
13. ↑ ^{a b} Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Line. railway-technology.com, 2010, accessed December 24, 2011 . 
14. ↑ Alkhazashvili: Britain to China ; gbs / hjs: Tbilisi line .
15. ↑ zbin: upgraded and new line , p. 30.
16. ↑ gbs / hjs: Tbilisi line .
17. ↑ zbin: upgraded and new line , p. 30.
18. ^ NN: Commissioning , p. 2.
19. ↑ zbin: upgraded and new line , p. 31f.
20. ↑ zbin: upgraded and new line , p. 32.
21. ↑ zbin: upgraded and new line , p. 31.
22. ↑ bac: Stadler's activities in the field of Russian broad gauge . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International 2/2018, pp. 79–83 (82f.).
23. ↑ mr: Stadler sleeping cars are waiting for delivery . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International 4/2017, p. 188.
24. ↑ bac: Stadler's activities in the field of Russian broad gauge . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International 2/2018, pp. 79–83 (82f.).