By 2030, the Azerbaijani exclave Nakhchivan should have a direct rail connection to Türkiye. Work on the line is now underway. Once completed, it is supposed to speed up logistics between Nakhchivan and the eastern Turkish regions significantly and provide opportunities for Asia – Europe traffic.
The 224-kilometre railway will have two tracks and be fully electrified. It connects Kars in the Turkish northeast to the Azerbaijani exclave Nakhchivan. It should reduce the journey time between Nakhchivan and Kars by 1 hour and 25 minutes.
Importantly, the line will link up to the Baku – Tbilisi – Kars (BTK) railway, which connects Azerbaijan to Türkiye via Georgia and is a key section of rail along the Middle Corridor. Because of that, Azerbaijani media write that the new Kars – Nakhchivan railway is expected to open up new opportunities for Central Asia – Europe rail freight.
Zangezur corridor
That seems to depend strongly on the opening of the Zangezur corridor. The corridor would connect the Azerbaijani mainland to its exclave through Armenian territory. Subsequently, the time for trains from Azerbaijan to make their way to Türkiye would also become shorter. However, it is unlikely that the Zangezur corridor will come to fruition. Armenia is vehemently opposed to that corridor because of the history of hostilities between the two countries.