Kazakhstan participated in the official opening of the modernized Baku–Tbilisi–Kars (BTK) railway line, which serves as one of the key elements of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR). At the ceremony, held on June 2 at the Akhalkalaki station in Georgia, the country was represented by Zhanbiek Taizhanov, Vice-Minister of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The upgraded line is designed to expand transport capabilities connecting Central Asia, the Caucasus, Turkey, and Europe.
The Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway establishes a direct link between the railway networks of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey, thereby creating additional opportunities for delivering Kazakhstani cargo across the Caspian Sea to European markets. For Kazakhstan, the development of this route holds strategic importance, as it contributes to strengthening the country’s transit potential, increasing the volume of international freight traffic, and enhancing the efficiency of logistics chains across the Eurasian region.
The total length of the railway line is 827 km. Following its launch in test mode in 2017, the line underwent extensive modernization, which was carried out from May 2023 to May 2024. As a result of this reconstruction, the route’s throughput capacity has increased fivefold – from 1 million to 5 million tons of cargo per year – opening up new opportunities for growth in cargo flow along the Middle Corridor and for the further development of international transit through Kazakhstan.