All sections

Rubrics

Editorial desks and subject areas

All NewsEvery published article, newest firstEconomyBusiness and investmentPoliticsPower and governanceEnergyResources and climateSecuritySecurity and conflictsChina FactorChina in the regionTurkish FactorTurkey's role in the regionOpinionPositions and commentary

Countries

Country hubs across the Eurasian space

KazakhstanCentral AsiaUzbekistanCentral AsiaKyrgyzstanCentral AsiaTajikistanCentral AsiaTurkmenistanCentral AsiaMongoliaInner AsiaAfghanistanInner AsiaPakistanSouth AsiaTurkeyRegional powerChinaNeighboring powerRussiaNeighboring powerCaucasusGeorgia · Armenia · Azerbaijan

Formats

Ways to read the archive

Wire BriefsFast updates from the wire deskAnalysisContext and interpretationOpinionCommentary and argument

Info

About, contact, and reader utilities

About Central Asia WireSearch ArchiveContact EditorialRSS Feed
Central Asia Wire
Independent Central Asia Monitor
Breaking
Georgia’s party-ban hearing enters its second week with no opposition motion grantedRahmon nominates his legal adviser to chair the election commission before the 2027 voteUzbekistan sets a 300,000 tonne quota on food makers’ white sugar imports from 2027Azerbaijan’s gas export revenue falls 4.8 percent in eight months on flat volumes
Economy

BTK goes full throttle: the upgraded Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway enters operation

Capacity jumped from 1 to 5 million tonnes a year. The Middle Corridor's western spine is no longer a bottleneck.

By CAW Staff3 June 2026
BTK goes full throttle: upgraded Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway enters operation

The modernised Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway entered full commercial operation on 2 June, marked by an inauguration ceremony at the Akhalkalaki Railway and Logistics Complex in Georgia. The event brought together the transport ministers of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey, alongside representatives from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

The upgrade, carried out by Azerbaijan Railways and Georgian Railways, rebuilt 153 kilometres of existing track on the Georgian section and added a new 30.3-kilometre line segment. Annual freight capacity rose fivefold, from 1 million to 5 million tonnes. The Georgian segment runs 180 kilometres from Marabda to the Turkish border.

The BTK links Baku with Kars via Tbilisi and serves as the western spine of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, the Middle Corridor.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze described the railway at the ceremony as a project of historic significance. A protocol on the upgrade was formally signed on 18 May in Baku by Azerbaijan's Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev and Georgia's Minister of Economy Mariam Kvrivishvili, in the presence of Presidents Aliyev and Kobakhidze.

The BTK first entered service in October 2017 but operated well below potential. The 2024 to 2026 modernisation resolves the primary infrastructure constraint on the corridor's cargo growth. The route's 826-kilometre length makes it one of the shortest overland connections between Asia and Europe.

BTK is the fixed western link in a corridor that stretches from China and Central Asia across the Caspian, through the South Caucasus, and into Turkey and Europe. Kazakhstan (ADY Container, KTZ Freight) and Uzbekistan are the primary shippers. The fivefold capacity increase matters most for container traffic, a segment that has been growing fast since 2022 as shippers sought alternatives to Russia. Monthly freight data from KTZ Freight and Georgian Railway are the leading indicators to watch. Next data point: June Middle Corridor statistics, expected late June.


More from🇰🇿Kazakhstan→