Turkey Breaks Ground On Railway To Naxçıvan: A New Era Of Connectivity

Published on September 1, 2025

Turkey is kicking disconnected a large infrastructure task by breaking crushed connected nan Kars – Iğdır – Aralık – Dilucu railway. This statement is designed to hook Turkey’s obstruction strategy to Azerbaijan’s Naxçıvan exclave. Once finished, nan railway will thief velocity up trade, boost economical growth, and fortify ties among Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia making it a cardinal portion of location cooperation.

Project Overview: Connecting Turkey to Naxçıvan

On August 22, 2025, nan ceremonial commencement of nan Kars – Iğdır – Aralık – Dilucu railway task was marked by Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu. He publication retired a connection from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, highlighting nan project’s value for Turkey’s proscription web and location economical relations.

The 224-kilometre double-track electrified statement will tally done Turkey’s eastbound provinces and widen towards nan Azerbaijani border. It will comprise 5 stations Digor, Tuzlucu, Iğdır, Aralık, and Dilucu- on pinch an awesome array of infrastructure elements. The task includes 5 tunnels, 19 trim and screen tunnels, 10 awesome bridges, 3 viaducts, and a web of 144 underpasses, 27 overpasses, and 480 culverts.

Strategic Importance for Regional Trade and Economic Growth

With an finance of astir €2.4 billion, nan caller railway statement is expected to beryllium a awesome boost to nan region’s economy, peculiarly for Turkey’s eastbound and southeastern areas. Once completed, nan statement will person nan capacity to carrier 15 cardinal tonnes of freight per year. This accrued capacity will thief streamline waste and acquisition routes, offering important opportunities for section businesses, and connecting Turkish markets to those successful nan Caspian region.

The railway will service arsenic an important proscription corridor for goods, facilitating nonstop links betwixt Turkey and Azerbaijan, and frankincense playing a important domiciled successful nan Zangezur Corridor. This corridor is group to amended economical relations and waste and acquisition travel betwixt Azerbaijan and Turkey, passing done Armenia. The motorboat of this peace-promoting way follows nan bid statement betwixt Armenia and Azerbaijan, which promises greater location practice and stability.

Construction and Financial Backing

The building of this obstruction statement has been awarded to nan Turkish contractor Kalyon İnşaat. With a projected building timeline of 7 years, nan task is well-supported by important world financing. The Turkish authorities secured a $2.8 cardinal financing package successful July 2025, which was led by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, pinch backing from Sweden’s EKN Export Credit Agency and Austria’s OeKB export in installments agency.

This important finance underlines nan strategical value of nan task for some Turkey and Azerbaijan. The railway is portion of Turkey’s semipermanent finance programme and demonstrates its committedness to modernising infrastructure to foster economical improvement successful little developed regions of nan country.

Regional Cooperation and Peace: The Zangezur Corridor

The Kars – Iğdır – Aralık – Dilucu railway is besides a cardinal portion of a broader negotiated and economical strategy. The precocious agreed-upon bid woody betwixt Armenia and Azerbaijan will lead to nan improvement of nan Zangezur Corridor, an inaugural that intends to unfastened a nonstop onshore way betwixt Azerbaijan’s Caspian Sea ports and Naxçıvan via confederate Armenia and Turkey.

The Zangezur Corridor, which will besides beryllium known arsenic nan Trump Route for International Peace & Prosperity, is expected to fortify not only nan economical ties betwixt Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia but besides heighten wide location stability. Turkish officials, including Minister Uraloğlu, person emphasized that this railway and nan Zangezur Corridor will pave nan measurement for enhanced socio-economic relations betwixt Asia and Europe, benefiting countries crossed nan region.

Impact connected Local Communities and Travelers

For travelers, nan building of this railway will importantly shorten recreation times betwixt Turkey and Azerbaijan, making it easier to research nan eastbound parts of Turkey. With accrued freight capacity and amended entree to location markets, nan railway will heighten tourism, offering much businesslike and sustainable carrier options for visitors exploring nan rich | culture, earthy beauty, and humanities sites of eastbound Turkey and beyond.

Locals successful nan Kars, Iğdır, and Aralık provinces tin expect to spot a boost successful employment opportunities, arsenic nan building of nan railway will create thousands of jobs successful nan region. In addition, nan improved infrastructure will stimulate section economies, peculiarly done enhanced waste and acquisition and proscription links pinch Azerbaijan and different parts of nan Caspian region.

A Vision for nan Future

President Erdoğan utilized nan caller railway task groundbreaking arena to laic retired nan country’s continuing extremity to build a much interconnected Turkey. The Kars–Iğdır–Aralık–Dilucu railway lies astatine nan bosom of this strategy, promising to velocity recreation and freight from 1 separator to different and to jump-start galore infrastructure upgrades successful Turkey and beyond. The railway’s effect will agelong acold past its tracks.

This statement fits into a overmuch larger Turkish scheme to upgrade nan full carrier web and to move nan state into nan main logistics gateway betwixt Europe and Asia. As building moves forward, faster and cheaper train transit will unfastened caller doors for companies, sightseers, and residents alike, making Turkey an moreover much important subordinate successful nan region’s economical growth.For much details, sojourn Turkey’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure’s charismatic website.