Construction of Akhalkalaki railway, which is carried out within the framework of the Baku-Tbilisi – Kars rail line, completed by 50% - "Commersant" was told at LLC "Marabda - Kartsakhi" which is implementing the project.

According to the company, about 1 000 people are employed on this section, 80% of them are the locals.

"Work is in progress every day and the railroad will be commissioned in accordance with the deadline. Railway route of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars will be commissioned at the end of 2015,"- the company says.

The total length of the line will be about 105 miles, 76 of them run on Turkish territory. The construction of the railway line from Turkish Kars to Georgian Akhalkalaki is almost completed, of which 68 km are on the Turkish section, 30 km - on Georgian.

BTK project will be a part of a high-speed rail corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia. As soon as a high-speed railway tunnel "Marmaray" under the Bosphorus that is  still under construction is put into operation, a direct link with the European railway network will be provided.

As expected, the BTK, which will have direct access to the European rail network, will carry 30 milliontons of cargo annually. 

BTC will increase the flow of container, bulk and other types of cargo from Asia to Europe. During this time, the "Marmaris" project on the construction of a tunnel under the Bosphorus will be completed, and will open a rail link to Europe.

Source:commersant.ge