President Ilham Aliyev viewed new electric buses and inspected reconstruction progress of railway infrastructure in Nakhchivan VIDEO
Nakhchivan, August 11, AZERTAC
On August 11, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva viewed the new electric buses to be commissioned in Nakhchivan city and inspected the progress of reconstruction of railway infrastructure in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.
Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev and Chairman of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC Rovshan Rustamov briefed the head of state and the First Lady on the progress made.
First, President Ilham Aliyev was briefed on railway construction projects along the Zangezur Corridor. It was noted that upon completion of these projects, the railway’s carrying capacity is projected to reach 15 million tons per year. The 30-kilometer section covering the Horadiz–Yukhari Marjanli–Soltanli stations has been put into temporary operation, with freight transportation to the “Araz Valley Economic Zone” Industrial Park underway since May 2024. To date, a total of 43,000 tons of cargo has been transported along this route.
Design and construction work on the Nakhchivan railway line commenced in 2025. Currently, the length of the line stands at 188 kilometers, while under the new project, this figure will reach 194.2 kilometers. The project envisages the reconstruction of 10 stations and three passenger platform stops.
At present, design work for the seven-kilometer section of the Nakhchivan railway line from Salammalik station to the state border with Armenia has been completed, and construction work has begun. Part of the engineering and infrastructure development work in the area has been completed, while the remainder is ongoing.
Currently, seven kilometers of rails and 7,000 sleepers have been delivered to the site. The installation of a 6.3-kilometer section of the track superstructure is planned to be completed by the end of September. Construction and installation work on the remaining section, located 700 meters from the border, is planned to begin upon completion of demining operations and once the project along the TRIPP route is ready for alignment. At the same time, the section from Sadarak station to the state border with Türkiye is planned to be technically and structurally aligned with the Kars–Iğdır–Dilucu railway project being implemented by the Turkish side. Design work for the aforementioned railway line is currently being carried out by Türkiye.
In accordance with the Order signed by President Ilham Aliyev last year “On additional measures in the field of public transport regulation in the city of Nakhchivan,” 60 BYD electric buses, assembled in Azerbaijan, measuring 8.7 meters in length and each capable of carrying 53 passengers, were purchased to organize passenger transportation in Nakhchivan city exclusively using electric buses. Charging equipment was installed, and depot infrastructure was upgraded to service the buses.
A digital dispatch and monitoring system was installed for traffic management, while contactless payment options via bank cards, QR codes, Apple Pay, and Google Pay were introduced on the buses.
With the implementation of this project, high-quality services can be provided to 4.5 million passengers annually across nine routes in Nakhchivan city.
Through the monitoring center, the movement of buses will be tracked in real time, ensuring control over the safe and uninterrupted transportation of passengers.
The launch of operations by “BakuBus” LLC in Nakhchivan city will significantly contribute to improving the quality of public transport services and fully transitioning payment processes to a cashless format.
The necessary infrastructure has been created at the depot, which spans an area of nearly three hectares, including technical inspection and repair bays, an automated accounting system charging station, and a facility capable of washing 15 buses per hour. The depot will operate in two shifts, employing 200 drivers and 22 administrative staff. The monthly salary for drivers will exceed 1,000 manats.
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