Poti – Baku railway line

Batumi / Poti – Baku
Route length:	897 km
Gauge :	1520 mm / 1524 mm
Power system :	3000  =
Maximum slope :	28  ‰
Legend Port Poti 312.1 Potentiometer 304.0 say 301.2 Colchida 295.1 Chaladidi 290.1 Chorga 284.0 Durgena 282.2 Kwaloni 276.0 Tekleti from Adler 272.1 Senaki 267.3 Nosiri 263.8 Agur-Karchana 262.0 Dsiguri 258.2 Abasha 252.8 Kolobani 249.1 Marani 247.2 Nigwsiani Batumi port 104.1 Batumi 102.0 Bartschana 100.9 Tamara 98.2 Machindjauri 96.2 Mzwane-Konschi 94.0 Botanichesky Sad 91.0 Chakwa 88.4 Zchis-Dsiri 85.3 Bobokwati 82.1 Kobuleti 78.1 Aguris Karchnis 75.0 Ochchamuri 71.0 Choloki 65.7 Natanebi to Osurget 61.2 Zwermagala 60.0 Kilometer 44 56.9 Ureki 51.0 Supsa 47.8 Kolschroma 45.2 Gurin 42.1 Jumati 37.0 Lesa 35.1 Chibati 29.8 Lanchuti 27.2 Km 79 23.1 Nigoiti 20.1 Kwiani 16.9 Japana 13.1 Chevis Tskhali 9.0 Saddschewacho 6.1 Dapnari 244.0 Samtredia 2 241.0 Samtredia 1 239.0 Km 2264 237.3 Ianeti 231.0 Kopitnari 226.3 Partschanakanebi 224.0 Km 2279 222.1 Muchiani to Tskaltubo (via Kutaisi -2) 217.3 Brozeula to Tqibuli (via Kutaisi -1) 212.9 Rioni Connection to Odilauri and Nachschirgele 205.0 Addschameti 201.0 Simoneti 195.7 Swiri 189.2 Argweta 185.0 Sakara 183.0 Sestaponi according to Satschere 179.1 Schorapani 1 174.3 Zeva 168.0 Dsirula 165.8 Tab 162.1 Basaleti 160.0 Charagauli 153.3 Grechili-Avedji 150.2 Marelisi 5.0 Sagandzile 143.3 Moliti 141.0 Sware 136.2 Zipa New summit tunnel (8.3 km) Surami tunnel (4423 m) 127.9 Lichi 125.0 Kilometer 125 of whales Industrial connections 5.0 Surami 120.0 Chashuri 115.2 Osiauri 112.0 Didi-Keleti 109.0 Gomi 104.0 Km 2399 100.1 Agara 94.2 Kareli 86.8 Urbnisi 84.3 Skra to Schindissi (formerly to Tskhinvali ) 76.1 Gori 73.2 Chidistavi 68.0 Uplistsikhe 65.7 Kwachwreli after Paschiani 7 61.3 Grakali 56.1 Metechi 48.0 Kaspi 43.2 Kawtischewi 38.4 Chandaki 32.8 Ksani 30.0 Schio-Mgwime 28.1 Dzegwi 25.3 Nawzadeni 23.0 Kilometer 2482 21.1 Mtskheta 19.4 Karzani 14.2 Say it 9.8 Awchala 9.2 Zchalsadeni 7.0 Kilometer 2497 6.1 LRZ 4.1 Bak. Didube 2.0 Tbilisi Satv. 0 Tbilisi Central Uri Sadguri 1.0 Kilometer 2505 3.0 Kilometer 2507 4.0 Kilometer 2508 5.7 Navtlugi Tbilisi – Yerevan railway line Tbilisi – Telavi railway line 8.4 Tbilisi-Damach. 16.2 Weli 22.2 Gajiani 24.3 Kilometer 18 30.9 Rustavi 33.4 Mtawari-Archi 39.1 Gardabani 44 Ruisbopo Georgia / Azerbaijan 46.1 Beük-Kasik 49.2 Muqanli 56.3 Soük-Bulak 65.1 Salaxli 74.8 Poylu 80.1 Qıraq Kəsəmən 83.4 Şakarli Ağstafa – Atarbenian railway line from Yerevan , Armenia 88.9 Agstafa 94.0 Km 94 98.2 Tatlı 106.0 Kilometer 106 109.2 Tovuz 117.0 Kilometer 117 122.3 Qovlar 129.5 Düqarli 136.4 Zeqam 143 Km 143 149.1 Dəllər (Doldar) 159.2 Şəmkir 161.5 Qaracamirli 164.0 Kilometer 164 168.2 Alabaşli to Quşçu 178.0 Km 178 to Xanlar 181.9 Gəncə 185.5 Aluçaqi 187.0 Km 187 193.1 Zazalı 200.0 Dəliməmmədli 209.0 Kilometer 209 211.0 Kazanbulak 213.8 Kürok-Çay 225.7 Qeran 229.0 Qizil-Gacily 238.6 Mingəçevir to Mingəçevir Sahar from Bərdə , formerly to Stepanakert 250.1 Yevlax 251.3 Yuxari block post to Balakon 236.2 Malai 275.0 Ləki Yenğica 286 Alikent 295.1 Ucari 299.0 Km 299 307.0 Barquseti 315.0 Km 315 321.4 Muesli 331.3 Karabucak 341.4 Kürdəmir 352.4 Karrar 366.5 Saqiri by Qyoylyarçyol 379.6 Padar 391.5 Qacievo 405.5 Muqan 417.2 Qazıməmməd (Hajiqabul) Railway line Ələt – Culfa and to Astara 427.3 Pirsoqat 435.4 Navaqi 447.3 Atbulaq Railway line Ələt – Culfa and from Astara 460.1 Ələt 474.2 Qobustan 483.3 Sanqaçal Industrial connections Qamyacik 495.0 Block post kilometer 495 498.5 Karadaq to Sumqayit and Moscow 503.4 Sazhevyy Zavod 510.5 Puta after Karier 513.2 Lökbatan 517.3 Eybat 526.0 Km 526 531.5 Xocəsən 533.0 to Sumqayit and Moscow 534.2 Biləcəri 535.0 Bilacari depot 2.5 Daranaq Baku Metro 8.6 Ulduz 537.2 Binagadi 538.0 Kirmaki 539.0 Bilaqani to Sumqayit and Moscow 542.4 Kişly 544.3 Kilometer 5 to Baku port Industrial and port connections 545.5 Montino 546.4 Kilometer 2 547.6 Kilometer 1 Baku Metro 548.8 Baku

The Poti / Batumi – Baku railway is the main artery of the Georgian railway network and one of the main lines in the Azerbaijani network.

geography

Train at Machindschauri

Oil train on the line

The railway line connects the coasts of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea and Georgia with Azerbaijan . It runs through the Transcaucasian Depression , which separates the Greater Caucasus and the Lesser Caucasus . The route connects the cities of Baku , Tbilisi , Poti and Batumi . From the two endpoints there are ship connections to Europe in the west and Asia in the east. It is an essential part of the southern route "Europe-Caucasus-China" of the United Nations- funded Trans-Eurasian rail corridor, which connects Europe and China and over which a growing proportion of goods and container traffic is handled in this relation. The route has to overcome the Surami Pass , which with a pass height of 946 m offers the lowest crossing over the Lichi Mountains , which connects the Greater Caucasus in the north with the Lesser Caucasus in the south and separates the Colchian Plain from the Transcaucasian Depression . Near the pass , the railway line crosses the mountains in a tunnel .

history

owner

The concession to build the line was awarded to a British company . The main objective was the transport of petroleum and its derivatives . In 1871 the Poti-Tbilisi Railway Company ( Russian Поти-Тифлисской Железной Дороги ) was founded. This company went into 1883 in the Transcaucasian Railway ( Russian Закавказской железной дорога ). This company in turn was nationalized in 1889 and was now called the Imperial Russian Transcaucasian State Railroad .

construction

First station building in Tbilisi, 1870s

Construction began in 1865. On August 1, 1871, the first section between Tbilisi and Sestaponi went into operation, followed by the section from Sestaponi to Poti on October 10, 1872. On August 12, 1877, the Rioni - Kutaisi branch line , the second largest city in Georgia, was connected to the railway.

On May 2, 1883, there was an extension at both ends of the route:

a) the line from Tbilisi to Baku was put into operation. This led to increased traffic and an expansion of the entire route.

b) Batumi , the second Black Sea port in Georgia - next to Poti - was connected to the railway with a line branching off in Samtredia . Poti was connected first because the larger Batumi still belonged to the Ottoman Empire until the Berlin Treaty of 1878 .

Initially, the Transcaucasian Railway was an island operation . It was not until 1900 that the Vladikavkaz Railway reached Baku and thus the Poti – Baku railway. From then on there was a rail connection to the Russian railway network.

expansion

Surami tunnel around 1900

Test drive with a class ПБ21 electric locomotive in the Chaschuri – Gori section in 1934

With the temporary independence of Georgia as the Georgian Democratic Republic after the fall of the Russian Empire , the railway became part of the Georgian Railway in 1918 . After Georgia became part of the Soviet Union , the line belonged to the Soviet Railways (SŽD / СЖД). Between 1927 and 1932 it was under the electrification campaign GOELRO complete with 3000 volts DC electrified . Eight from the use initially USA imported electric locomotives of the series S 10 . Then WL 19 built here in the Soviet Union operated in large numbers.

present

Sestaponi train station

Gardabani, Georgian border station with Azerbaijan

On April 9, 1991, Georgia declared itself independent again. The line now belonged to the Georgian Railway Company .

The entire route was renewed from 2008 to 2014. It is used in passenger and freight traffic. In the future, there will be particular emphasis on transit traffic with container trains , the travel time of which is to be reduced to less than 30 hours by modernizing the entire route. The aim was to achieve 65,500 standard containers or TEU per year at costs that are less than 20% of those that arise during road transport. The route is also of great importance within the framework of the “Europe-Caucasus-Asia transport corridor” ( TRACECA ) funded by the EU . The eastern section of the line is also the eastern part of the Kars – Achalkalaki – Tiflis – Baku railway line , which continues westward via the Kars – Tbilisi railway into Turkey. The route is also part of the New Silk Road propagated by the Chinese side .

technical features

General

Today the line is 897 kilometers long, was built in the "Russian" broad gauge of 1524 mm (today: 1520 mm) and is electrified with 3000 volts direct current .

Crossing the Lichi Mountains

In the area of ​​the Lichi Mountains, the route is a mountain railway . The route has been optimized several times:

It was built with gradients of up to 46 ‰ and curve radii of up to 320 m. First 45 were used for this section steam locomotives of the type Fairlie ( Russian Ф series ) and some other mountainous common locomotives other series . With the increase in traffic caused by the opening of the route extension to Baku in 1883, this "bottleneck" was rebuilt for the first time.

On September 16, 1890, the 4,423 m long Surami tunnel was opened between the Lichi and Zipa stations . To do this, the route had to be relocated and four new stations built. This made it possible to reduce the maximum gradient on the western ramp to 18 ‰ and on the eastern ramp to 10 ‰. The difference is explained by the predominant direction in which goods are transported. But freight trains still run over the pass with push locomotives .

Work is currently underway on a further improvement of the section: a 44 km long new line is being built between Chaschuri and Charagauli . The route is flattened again through an 8.3 km long crest tunnel. The project is being carried out by Chinese companies. The breakthrough of the new tunnel took place on November 21, 2017. The new line is scheduled to go into operation in 2019.

business

Since a considerable part of oil and oil products are transported from Azerbaijan to the Black Sea ports, freight traffic is characterized by an asymmetry: While the corresponding transports are rolling to the west, there are correspondingly many empty trains in the opposite direction.

On December 29, 2018, the Azerbaijani Railway set up a high-speed service with double- decker trains between Baku and Gəncə - initially with a daily pair of trains . With stops in Biləcəri , Yevlax and Goran , an average travel speed of 85 km / h is achieved for the 360 ​​km long route with a travel time of 4:15 hours. The four-part sets offer 367 seats in three classes : 9 seats in 1st class, 62 seats in business class and 296 in standard class.

See also

Notes on the gauge: gauge (railway), measurement method of the Russian gauge or Russian broad gauge .

literature

• Markus Rabanser: Georgia . In: Fern-Express 1/2016, pp. 20–26.
• Neil Robinson: World Rail Atlas . Vol. 8: The Middle East and Caucasus . 2006. ISBN 954-12-0128-8 .

Remarks

1. ↑ According to a study by the University of Warsaw, the expected utilization of the route due to the future volume of goods is now significantly higher. Analysis of the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing at the University of Warsaw ( Memento of the original from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Accessed July 2, 2014. 
2. ↑ The distance between Batumi and Baku is 896.9 km long, between Poti and Baku it is 861.9 km.
3. ↑ See: here .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Study by the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute ( Memento from July 25, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), accessed June 28, 2014.
2. ↑ Lecture by Prof. hc Dr. Johannes Weinand on Trans-Eurasian transport corridors at the 7th Railway Congress in Berlin , accessed June 28, 2014.
3. ↑ Surami Range . In: The Great Soviet Encyclopedia. 1979. (Retrieved May 3, 2015).
4. ↑ Rabanser, p. 24.
5. ↑ Robinson, p. 13.
6. ^ Victor von Röll: Encyclopedia of the Railway System . Volume 8. Keyword: Russian railways . Berlin, Vienna 1917, pp. 256-278.
7. ↑ Robinson, p. 64.
8. ↑ Rabanser, p. 21.
9. ↑ Rabanser, p. 25.
10. ↑ Rabanser, p. 21.
11. ↑ Rabanser, p. 21.
12. ↑ Rabanser, p. 24f.
13. ↑ GS Raikher: Transcaucasian Railroad . Большая советская энциклопедия (Great Soviet Encyclopedia), Moscow 2010 (English).
14. ↑ Rabanser, p. 21.
15. ↑ http://www.traceca-org.org/fileadmin/fm-dam/TAREP/65ta/Country_Profiles/Case_Studies/CBA_Block_Train_eng.pdf 2nd progress report Cost-Benefit Analysis of Container Block Train Service Poti-Baku, accessed July 1 2014
16. ↑ T. Churadze: Construction of Surami pass railway and tunnel . In: Transport Construction . No. 10, 2005, pp. 29-32.
17. ↑ Л. Ф. Жуков: Была ли трагедия? . In: Вокруг света , January 1, 1983. Retrieved May 3, 2015. 
18. ↑ Виталий Николаевич Тестов: Ключевые проблемы обходной линии Сурамского перевала Закавказской железной дороги в середине 80-х - начале 90-х годов XIX в Archived from the original on May 4, 2016. Info: The archive link is automatically inserted and not yet tested. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Исторические, философские, политические и юридические науки, культурология и искусствоведение. Вопросы теории и практики . No. 8-4, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2016. 
19. ↑ Rabanser, p. 24.
20. ↑ Rabanser, p. 25.
21. ↑ bac: Expansion of Tbilisi - Batumi . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International 1/2018, p. 32.
22. ↑ Rabanser, p. 24.
23. ↑ AZD CJSC press release: New express train on the route Baku – Ganja in Azerbaijan . In: OSJD Bulletin 1/2019, p. 38.

Web links

Commons : Poti – Tbilisi – Baku railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files