Everything You Need to Know About the Baku Tbilisi Kars Railway

The Baku Tbilisi Kars (BTK) or Baku Tbilisi Akhalkalaki Kars railway (BTAK) is a 826-kilometre (513-mile) railroad that links Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey (Türkiye).

It was due to be completed by 2010. But after years of delays, it is still not fully operational.

Primarily a freight train, part of the ‘New Silk Road’ link between Europe and Asia, the BTAK will also accommodate passengers. I am following the development of this project from a travellers’ perspective and am very interested in what it will mean for travel in the region.

For starters, it will be Georgia’s only rail link with Turkiye, opening up overland travel from Tbilisi to Istanbul via Kars and Ankara. It will also renew the possibility of a Georgian-Azerbaijan overland itinerary.

As a train nerd, I always make a point of driving alongside the new tracks whenever I am travelling around Georgia. I have already seen some of the new stations from afar, and I must say the new infrastructure looks quite impressive.

When this train officially launches, I will be among the first in line to buy tickets! In the meantime, let’s explore the route and see what insights we can glean about the future of overland travel in this region.

Update: On May 26, 2026, the passenger train between Tbilisi and Baku resumed service after a six-year pause. The train will now run every night between the two capitals. It will not continue to Kars – there is still no word on when the Tbilisi–Kars leg of the journey will be available. This also does not mean Azerbaijan is reopening its land borders more broadly: the train is a special exemption. For full details on the newly relaunched Tbilisi-Baku sleeper train – including who is eligible to buy tickets – see this detailed guide.

Is the Baku Tbilisi Kars passenger train running?

First things first: Can you travel from Georgia to Turkiye and Azerbaijan by train?

The short answer is no – the Baku Tbilisi Kars railway became operational on October 2017, but only for freight services in test mode.

After a period of closure that involved repair works, freight services on the line resumed in May 2024.

Then in May 2026, passenger services relaunched between Baku and Tbilisi.

Reports now say the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will be formally inaugurated on June 2, 2026 at Akhalkalaki Station. This appears to refer to the official commissioning of the BTK railway corridor/infrastructure project, not the launch of passenger trains between Georgia and Turkiye. No passenger timetable, ticketing information, or Tbilisi-Kars service announcement has been published yet.

Passenger trains on the full Baku-Kars route have not yet commenced, and there is no official launch date. I am watching the news closely and will return to update this as soon as there is an announcement.

Passenger trains were supposed to start running in summer 2019. Despite the delays, it is more or less guaranteed that travellers will be able to use this train eventually. Azerbaijan (who will jointly administer the passenger service with Georgia) has already invested in rolling stock from Stadler (more info on carriages and classes below).

With Azerbaijan’s land borders still closed to incoming travellers, there needs to be a policy change on this matter before trains can start. In August 2023, it was reported in Georgian media that Azerbaijan’s border reopening might coincide with the BTAK launch.

Based on the available information, I anticipate that BTAK passenger trains will start running in late spring or summer 2024. This is just one of my regional travel predictions for 2024!

UPDATE: I was wrong! Azerbaijan’s border closure has been extended again. Despite this, passenger services on the Tbilisi-Baku leg recommenced (with a special exemption) in late May 2026.

Interesting facts about the Baku Tbilisi Kars railway

The BTAK spans a total distance of 826 kilometres or 513 miles.

The bulk of the line (around 500 km) lies in Azerbaijan, while around 260 km runs through Georgia, and a short section of approximately 80 km is in Turkiye. (I know those numbers don’t quite add up, but it’s the best I could find!)

The Azerbaijan section of the railway makes use of existing tracks, with improvements made to the signalling system.

In Georgia, around 30 km of new line has been laid and 153 km rehabilitated. This includes 32 rail bridges and 4.6 km of tunnels.

The main project in Turkiye was to construct a 4.45 km mountain tunnel across the border. This creates a brand new crossing between Georgia and Turkiye at Canbaz-Karsakhi.

It is a fourth crossing to complement existing immigration points at Hopa-Sarpi on the Black Sea Coast, Posof-Vale near Akhaltsikhe, and Cildir-Aktas-Kartsakhi.

Someone once told me that this will be the highest passenger railway in Europe. Of course it doesn’t come close to reaching the same heights as the Jungfrau Railway in Switzerland, but I think what they meant is that it will be the longest sustained railway at a high elevation. To be confirmed!

The average elevation of the Javakheti Plateau, where the main part of the Georgia section runs, is 1,800 metres above sea level. Kars and Eastern Turkiye are about the same.

Javakheti is breathtakingly beautiful, so whether this is true or not, I know for a fact that the scenery on this journey will be incredible, especially in the snowy winter. I am hopeful that the BTAK will bring more tourists and jobs to this underrated part of Georgia.

The BTAK will have an annual capacity of one million passengers and the ability to carry more than 15 million tons of freight.

Interestingly, passengers on this train will experience a change of gauge. That’s because Georgia and Azerbaijan both use Russian broad gauge lines, while the new tracks in Georgia and Turkiye have been constructed at standard gauge to comply with Turkiye’s rail network.

A gauge-changing facility has already been installed near Akhalkalaki, and the rolling stock for this route will come equipped with adjustable wheelsets.

This project has been in the works since 2007, when Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev, Georgia’s Mikheil Saakashvili and Turkiye’s Abdullah Gül signed an agreement. The first tracks were laid that year.

The BTAK is part of the New Silk Road initiative and forms an important link between Europe and Asia. Using this overland route, it takes just 15 days for freight to reach Istanbul from South Korea, twice as fast as sea shipping.

The three nations of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkiye are already linked by the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas line. The project is also important as a railway corridor that eliminates the need to travel through Russia.

Also consider that the BTAK bypasses Armenia, essentially rendering the Kars-Gyumri-Tbilisi railway that has not been operational since 1993 redundant. In terms of regional and global politics, the BTAK has meaningful implications.

Where will the train from Azerbaijan to Turkey stop? Route & railway stations

There are 21 railway stations on the BTAK line. This includes:

• Azerbaijan: 8 stations
• Georgia: 9 stations
• Turkiye: 4 stations

It is not known whether the passenger train will call into all of these stations.

Similarly, it is unclear whether passengers will be able to use this train for domestic travel or if it will be limited to international journeys. It would be great if the train had day carriages to open up the southern part of Georgia, where there are no passenger railway services currently.

Stations in Azerbaijan

The BTAK originates in Azerbaijan’s capital city, Baku, and travels along the existing rail line north-west towards Tbilisi.

The train passes stations in Hajigabul, Ujar, Ganja, Govlar, Tovuz and Aghstafa before crossing the Georgian border at Boyuk-Kesik-Gardabani.

The train then runs through Rustavi and Gachiani before arriving at Tbilisi Central Railway Station.

Stations in Georgia

From Tbilisi, the train moves south to Krtsanisi, Kumisi and Marabda. In Kvemo Kartli region, there are stations in Tsintskaro and Tetritskaro. The latter is close to Samshvilde and Birtvisi Canyons, where some of Georgia’s best day hikes are found.

The railway then snakes north to find the highway where it moves due west towards Tsalka. It crosses the Chikiani Pass into Samtskhe-Javakheti region and runs along the shore of Lake Paravani, Georgia’s largest lake by surface area. 

As I mentioned, this part of Georgia has incredible landscapes – it will undeniably be the most scenic stretch of the journey, so I hope it takes place during daylight hours!

The train passes smaller Saghamo Lake before heading west again through the outskirts of Ninotsminda. Here, a flashy new railway station has already been built in Mamzvara (Akhalkalaki Station). It was designed by J.MAYER.H, the German firm behind the Pier Sculpture in Anaklia, the border checkpoint building in Sarpi, and many other modern buildings in Georgia.

Ninotsminda is the gateway to the Javakheti Protected Areas, with its lakes and birdwatching opportunities. It is also very close to the Armenian border, so this might present an opportunity for passengers to alight and cross by road at Ninotsminda-Bavra.

The BTAK continues southwest along the edge of Javakheti National Park to its final stop in Georgia, Kartsakhi.

Stations in Turkiye

The train then crosses into Turkiye via the new tunnel-border at Karsakhi-Canbaz. 

Stations in Turkiye have not been mapped to the best of my knowledge, but we know that the train will call into three stations before culminating in Kars.

Baku Kars train map

Here is a quick map I made of the route and stations based on the information available online.

Click here to open the map.

How long will it take to travel from Baku to Kars?

The journey time from Baku to Kars by train is unknown. But I can make an educated guess based on the following:

Consider that the trip from Baku to Tbilisi takes just over 12 hours. The line through southern Georgia covers around 50% of that distance, so 6 hours travel time roughly. The line in Turkiye is only 80 km, so say 2 hours. That’s a total of 20 hours. 

Add time for immigration procedures and station calls, and I would estimate a total travel time of 24-26 hours.

But – the Tbilisi Baku route used old Soviet-era carriages, while the BTAK will carry modern Stadler trains, capable of reaching speeds of up to 160 km/h (99 mph). There is no guarantee that trains will travel anywhere near maximum speed – the Tbilisi Batumi train has taught us that – but still, it should reduce travel time significantly.

It should definitely be possible to travel from Azerbaijan to Turkiye by rail via Georgia in around 24 hours.

What will the train be like? Carriages, classes & amenities on the BTAK

The passenger arm of the BTAK will use Swiss-made Stadler rolling stock. According to media reports, each train will include 10 cars:

• 1 first-class car with 16 compartments sleeping 2 passengers each, all with an ensuite bathroom including shower
• 6 second-class cars with 34 beds arranged in 4-person coupes plus a shared toilet-shower
• 1 first-second-class car with 20 additional beds, including family compartments
• 1 car with 16 additional second-class compartments plus facilities for accessible travellers and crew
• 1 dining car with 28 seats

Click here for a 360-degree virtual tour of the sleeper cars.

Based on this, there will be three types of tickets for the Baku Kars train: First class, second class, and first-second (family) class.

There is no train in Georgia, domestic or international, with a dining car. I’m so excited to see what will be on the menu!

Latest news articles about the Baku Tbilisi Kars railway

Here is a summary of important announcements concerning the BTAK passenger train. I will add new links here as they are released.

• May 2026: Official inauguration of the BTAK to take place at Akhalkalaki Station – via BM
• December 2025: Completion of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway will be a key priority next year – via Azertag
• January 2025: Increased freight capacity announced for the BTAK line – via 1tv
• May 2024: Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway expansion completed – via Caspian News
• December 2023: A second Stadler train is delivered to Baku – via Caliber.az
• August 2023: Azerbaijan suggests a high-speed passenger train will be launched when borders open, “within the framework of our post-pandemic measures package” – via Business Insider Georgia (in Georgian)
• December 2020: The first China-bound freight train arrives in Georgia – via Agenda.ge
• March 2019: The first passenger coach is tested – via Caspian News
• October 2017: The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars launches – via Eurasianet