Azerbaijan Railways

Azerbaijan Railways (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Dəmir Yolları) is the national state-owned rail transport operator in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The 2,918 km (1,813 mi), 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 ²⁷⁄₃₂ in) gauge network is electrified at 3 kV (3,000 V) DC.^[1] The headquarters of the Azerbaijan Railways is in the capital Baku.

The Azerbaijan Railways is one of the successors of the Soviet Railways, which was the successor of the Russian Imperial Railways.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 its railway system broke up into national railway systems of various former Soviet republics from which the independent Republic of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijan Railways emerged that year.

The first railway line in Azerbaijan was laid in 1878 and was opened in 1880 in the suburbs outside Baku.

There are 2,918 km (1,813 mi) of rail tracks out of which 72% or 2,117 km (1,315 mi) are single track and 28% or 815 km (506 mi) are double tracks.^[1]

Of the total exploitation length of route 43% or 1,272 km (790 mi) are electrified.^[1]

About 38% of the length of the railway routes or 1,126 km (700 mi) are equipped with full automatic blocks and 16% or 479 km (298 mi) are equipped with centralized dispatchers.^[1]

The railway has 176 stations, 2 of which Biləcəri (in Baku) and Şirvan are completely automated, 12 stations have container courts with adapted mechanisms and machines, 3 stations – Keşlə (in Baku), Gəncə and Xırdalan are able to supply high cargo containers.

Of the total exploitation length of route 72% or 2,117 km (1,315 mi) are in common carrier service and does not include industrial lines.^[1]

The national network has no high-speed lines and is not served by high-speed trains.

Much of the railway track and rolling stock is in need of repair or replacement. However, with the Kars–Tbilisi–Baku railway, a regional rail link project that will directly connect Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan and is currently under construction, the railway lines are being modernised in Azerbaijan with the latest technology and brand new and fast rail stock will be added and will replace the old rail stock which are still in service. The freight market share of the railways are also expected to rise rapidly with completion of the Kars–Tbilisi–Baku railway in 2010.

The total length of the Azerbaijan Railways ranks 57 in country comparison to the world.^[1]

History

Baku Railway Station

Russian Imperial Railways 1878-1917

The first railway line in Azerbaijan then belonging to the Russian Empire was laid in 1878 and was opened in 1880 within the suburban range of Baku, which led from Sabunçu to Suraxanı, today situated within the city of Baku. The track width corresponded to the Russian 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 ²⁷⁄₃₂ in) gauge.

The first long-distance railway line was opened in 1883, which led from Baku to Tbilisi in Georgia.

In 1900 railway lines were opened which connected Baku via Biləcəri with Derbent and Petrovsk (Makhachkala) in Dagestan and thus connected Azerbaijan with the rest of the Russian Empire (and later the Soviet Union).

In 1908 with extension of the railway line from Ararat in Armenia to Şərur and Julfa in the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan, this part of Azerbaijan was connected with Armenia.

Thus the development of the Azerbaijani Railway was for the time being considered final.

Soviet Railways 1917-1991

After the collapse of the Russian Empire and the Russian Revolution the country was transformed into the Soviet Union and the Russian Imperial Railways into the Soviet Railways.

Due to the availability of electricity from the vast water power sources of Azerbaijan, the very early electrification of the railway lines of Azerbaijan began. In 1926 with the electrification with 1,2 kV (1,200 V) direct current of the railway line between Baku and Sabunçu, it became the first electrically operated railway line of the Soviet Union. Later electrifications took place with 3 kV (3,000 V) direct current.

In 1924 the railway line was extended southwards to Ələt and Neftçala.

In 1941 the railway line was extended from Horadiz and Mincivan through Armenia including a railway line extension to Kapan, to Julfa in the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan. Thus the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan was finally connected with Azerbaijan proper.

In 1941 the railway line was also extended southwards to Astara, Azerbaijan at the southern border with Iran.

In 1944 the railway line was extended to Kətəlparaq, Ağdam and Stepanakert (Xankəndi).

Until 1991 the railway traffic was operated in Azerbaijan by the Soviet Railway under supervision of the Soviet Traffic Ministry. The Azerbaijani branch of the Soviet Railways was divided into three departments of Baku, Gəncə and Nakhchivan City.

Main building of the Azerbaijan Railways in Baku

Azerbaijan Railways (Azərbaycan Dəmir Yolları) 1991-

Electric locomotive

Stadler KISS

Alstom KZ8A

With the independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 1991, the Azerbaijan State Railways (Azərbaycan Dövlət Dəmir Yolları) was formed the same year.

Due to the conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in Azerbaijan, the railway service in the Armenian occupied areas of Azerbaijan including Nagorno-Karabakh as well as international railway traffic to Armenia has been cut. As a result, 240.4 km of Azerbaijani railway is under Armenian occupation. Thus also no railway traffic exists to the Azerbaijani exclave Nakhchivan which is divided from the rest of Azerbaijan by Armenia, but is not under Armenian occupation. The railway traffic into Iran which is only via Nakhchivan is likewise cut. Due to this, international railway traffic between Azerbaijan and Iran is continuing only with Nakhchivan. International railway traffic also exists with the Russian Railways and the Georgian Railway and is schedulded with the Turkish State Railways via Georgia from 2014 onwards.

In freight traffic, the exportation of oil from the oil wells from Baku at the Caspian Sea to the Georgian port of Batumi at the Black Sea, forms an important share of the rail transport in Azerbaijan. The freight market share of the Azerbaijan State Railway was 21% in 1999.

In 2009 the closed joint-stock company "Azerbaijan Railways" (Azәrbaycan Dәmir Yolları Qapalı Səhmdar Cəmiyyəti, "ADY" QSC) - the national operator of the railway network in Azerbaijan with 100% state capital, was founded on the basis of the Azerbaijan State Railways, functionally replacing it.

The Kars–Tbilisi–Baku railway, is a regional railway project to directly connect Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan. The project is scheduled for completion in 2014. Although no additional railway lines will be added in Azerbaijan itself, as this section in Azerbaijan is already double track and electrified, the railway lines will be modernised with the latest technology and brand new and fast rail stock will be added and will replace the old rail stock which are still in service. The freight market share of the railways are also expected to rise rapidly with completion of the Kars–Tbilisi–Baku railway.

Stadler to supply double-deck EMUs to Azerbaijan. An agreement for the supply of five Kiss double-deck electric multiple-units was signed by Stadler Rail CEO Peter Spuhler and Javid Gurbanov, Chairman of national railway ADY, at the TransCaspian 2015 trade fair in Baku on May 13. ^[2]

National railway ADDY has placed a €300m order for 50 Alstom KZ8A twin-section 25 kV AC electric freight locomotives. Also Sep 7, 2015 - Alstom has begun developing the components for AZ8A freight electric locomotives, intended for supply to Azerbaijan.

International railway links with neighboring countries

• Russia - open - 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 ²⁷⁄₃₂ in) gauge.

• Georgia - open - 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 ²⁷⁄₃₂ in) gauge - also new 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) standard gauge link to Turkey (under construction - due to be completed in 2016).

• Iran - open - break-of-gauge 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 ²⁷⁄₃₂ in) - 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) - only via the Azerbaijani exclave Nakhchivan, but a railway link with Azerbaijan proper is planned.^[3]

• Turkey - no link but is under construction - break-of-gauge 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 ²⁷⁄₃₂ in) - also new 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) standard gauge via Georgia (under construction - due to be completed in 2016).

• Armenia - closed - 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 ²⁷⁄₃₂ in) gauge - closed for political reasons.

Timeline

2007

• On February 7, 2007 an agreement was signed for the construction Kars-Tbilisi-Baku railway.

• On September 12, 2007, Musa Panahov, the Deputy Minister of Transport of Azerbaijan, announces that construction on the Baku-Tiblisi-Kars railway will begin in October. Construction is budgeted at $200 million, of which $50 million has been allocated from the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan (SOFAZ).^[4]

• On November 21, 2007, the presidents of Azerbaijan - Ilham Aliyev, Georgia - Mikheil Saakashvili, and Turkey - Abdullah Gül inaugurated the construction of the railway at a groundbreaking ceremony at the Marabda junction south of Tbilisi,^[5] and the first rails were planned to be laid in April 2008.^[6]

2008

The Russian-Georgian-Ossetian conflict (2008 South Ossetia war) and environmental problems delayed the project, which was originally to be completed by 2010 but is now scheduled for completion by 2014.^[7]

2009

On 14, 2009, Azerbaijan Railways, Islamic Republic of Iran Railways and Russian Railways agreed on implementing the project to build a new line between Qazvin, Resht, and Astara, Iran with Astara, Azerbaijan which would link with the rail network of Azerbaijan and also Russia. A standard gauge connection to the Iranian railway network along the shore of the Caspian Sea is planned. This break of gauge station is likely to be equipped with bogie exchange and SUW 2000 variable gauge axle track gauge changing facility. The line also will link Nakhchivan to Azerbaijan proper via Iran.

Azerbaijan Railways have long distance trains to Tyumen (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in week), Rostov (Sunday and Tuesday), Moscow (Tuesday and Friday) and Kharkiv (Via Russia, Wednesday).

See also

• Azerbaijan
• Rail transport in Azerbaijan
• Transport in Azerbaijan
• Chingiz Ildyrym

References

External links

• Azerbaijan Railways Official Site (Azerbaijani) (English) (Russian)
• Gallery and Information of the Electric Locomotives of the Azerbaijan Railways
• "Schematic Map of the Azerbaijan Railway Network" (in Russian). 
• "Gallery and Information of the Electric Locomotives of the Azerbaijan Railways" (in Russian).