Shortly after nine o’clock on Tuesday morning (26 May), a sleek white train eased into Tbilisi’s central railway station, a couple of minutes behind schedule, carrying passengers from Baku for the first time since 2020.
For many of those on board, the journey was more than a night’s travel across the South Caucasus. It was the end of a very long wait.
The Baku–Tbilisi overnight service was once a fixture of life across the South Caucasus. Before the pandemic forced Azerbaijan to close its land borders in March 2020, the nightly train was rarely empty.
Business travellers, families visiting relatives, students and tourists bound for the old streets of Tbilisi or the Caspian coast filled the carriages almost every evening.
When the borders closed, flying became the only option - faster, yes, but far less convenient and affordable for many travellers.
Six years is a long time. The route became something people spoke about in the past tense, a familiar part of everyday regional life that had quietly slipped away.
Earlier announcements about a possible restart came and went without materialising. So when Azerbaijan Railways confirmed the reopening date this time, and tickets genuinely went on sale, people paid attention.
“After a six-year pause, railway service between Georgia and Azerbaijan has resumed. This is a very important route, especially considering that starting today the service will operate daily. Demand is high - in just a few days, a very large number of tickets have already been sold. Trains on the Baku–Tbilisi and Tbilisi–Baku routes will now run every day. This is a successful project that we will continue to develop together with our Azerbaijani colleagues,” Lasha Abashidze, Director General of Georgian Railway, said.
The trains now operating the route are Stadler Rail coaches - modern Swiss-built sleeper cars purchased by Azerbaijan Railways in 2019.
They were originally acquired for an even more ambitious project: a direct passenger service from Baku to Istanbul via Kars in north-eastern Türkiye, running along the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars railway, which officially opened in 2017.
The pandemic arrived before those plans could begin, and the carriages spent years sitting idle at Baku station. Today, they finally entered passenger service.
The restoration of passenger services follows direct diplomatic engagement between Azerbaijan and Georgia. A protocol of the bilateral coordination council was signed during a visit to Baku by Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, who met Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
The document was signed by Georgia’s Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Mariam Kvrivishvili, and Azerbaijan’s Minister of Digital Development and Transport, Rashad Nabiev. Both governments described the corridor as a strategic route linking the Caspian region with Türkiye and wider international markets.
Although the Baku–Tbilisi passenger service has resumed, Azerbaijan continues to keep its land borders with neighbouring countries, including Russia and Iran, closed. The country shut its land borders in March 2020, citing the need to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The reopening of the rail connection, despite broader border restrictions remaining in place, underlines the political importance attached to ties between Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Tamar Ioseliani, Deputy Minister at Georgia’s Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, said: “After a six-year pause, the Baku–Tbilisi railway service has resumed. Starting from May 26, this route will operate daily. Our citizens, citizens of Azerbaijan, and tourists alike will have the opportunity to travel by train. This is a very important and welcome decision that was made during the Prime Minister’s visit to Baku. Naturally, this will contribute to the development of the economy and tourism, as well as strengthen ties between our peoples.”
The route now runs nightly in both directions. Departures from Baku are scheduled daily at 23:10, arriving in Tbilisi at 08:41 the following morning. Services from Tbilisi leave at 21:00 and arrive in Baku at 06:24.
The timetable includes one hour for border and customs procedures on each side.
Within Azerbaijan, trains stop at Biləcəri, Yevlax, Gəncə, Ağstafa and Böyük Kəsik. In Georgia, services call at Gardabani before reaching Tbilisi.
A full one-way ticket from Baku to Tbilisi starts at 81 Azerbaijani manats, around 127 Georgian lari. Shorter journeys along the route are priced lower. At present, tickets are available to Azerbaijani citizens and nationals of countries with visa-free access to Azerbaijan.
Demand for the restored service has been strong from the outset. ADY said more than 1,000 tickets were sold shortly after bookings opened, including more than 400 in Baku and over 500 in Tbilisi.
An additional carriage was added to the first departure to accommodate demand, while the operator acknowledged that the surge in bookings caused temporary delays to its ticketing system.
The bigger picture is regional connectivity. The Baku–Tbilisi–Kars corridor is not just a passenger route; it is a key section of the Middle Corridor, the overland trade route linking China and Central Asia with Europe via the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus and Türkiye.
With passenger services now operating alongside existing freight traffic, the corridor is functioning as a more complete transport link, carrying both goods and people across the region.
For the passengers stepping off the train in Tbilisi this morning, the politics were probably secondary. What mattered was that the journey was possible again: overnight, without a flight, across a stretch of the Caucasus that is, by most accounts, quietly spectacular at sunrise.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 is set to be one of a kind when it kicks off on 11 June, as it brings with it a slew of firsts ahead of co-hosts Mexico takin...
Iran and Israel said on Monday (8 June) they had halted attacks on each other following an appeal from U.S. President Donald Trump, as Axios reported...
A Sudanese man has been arrested over a knife attack in Belfast that left a man seriously injured and prompted calls online for a protest after footag...
The United Nations has warned that Afghanistan's relative stability may not be sustainable unless the country's current authorities change policies af...
Iran's FIFA World Cup 2026 squad arrived in Mexico wearing badges bearing the hashtag "168" in memory of victims of the deadly Minab school missile st...
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry has confirmed the number of casualties its citizens suffered as a result of the 5 June drone attacks on the cargo ships Natra and Zircon in the Sea of Azov. In a statement, it said four Azerbaijani citizens were killed and four others were injured.
Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Georgia signed the Istanbul Declaration on Monday, reaffirming their commitment to stronger regional cooperation, connectivity and stability across the South Caucasus.
For about three decades after the Soviet collapse, Armenia anchored its foreign and security policy to Moscow.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, newly independent Armenia emerged with the promise of democracy. But in the years that followed, conflicts and political assassinations sidetracked politics in the country, until a 2018 revolution restored momentum to the promise.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's Civil Contract party has won the Armenian elections, picking up nearly half the vote. With a majority in parliament, Pashinyan is set for a third term as Prime Minister. But an opposition politican has said he will challenge the election results.
The results of Armenia’s parliamentary elections will determine the makeup of the National Assembly and shape the country's political direction for the foreseeable future. But in Armenia, the final result is not decided by vote percentages alone. Here's how it works.
A Sudanese man has been arrested over a knife attack in Belfast that left a man seriously injured and prompted calls online for a protest after footage of the incident circulated widely on social media.
Barcelona is preparing to mark a historic milestone in the legacy of architect Antoni Gaudí as Pope Leo XIV visits the city this week to inaugurate the Tower of Jesus Christ at the Sagrada Família basilica, almost exactly 100 years after the visionary architect’s death.
Iran and Israel have halted strikes on each other, but Tehran has warned it will recommence attacks if Israel continues military action in Lebanon. U.S. President Donald Trump and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun have meanwhile made pleas for peace.
The United Nations has warned that Afghanistan's relative stability may not be sustainable unless the country's current authorities change policies affecting women, the economy and regional security.
Iran and Israel said on Monday (8 June) they had halted attacks on each other following an appeal from U.S. President Donald Trump, as Axios reported that Trump had privately told Benjamin Netanyahu “be careful, or you will be on your own very soon”.
Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Georgia signed the Istanbul Declaration on Monday, reaffirming their commitment to stronger regional cooperation, connectivity and stability across the South Caucasus.
Uzbekistan and Russia have agreed to deepen cooperation in agriculture, energy and food security following high-level meetings held during the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) 2026.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that the U.S. would bear direct responsibility for any escalation in West Asia after Iran and Israel resumed strikes for the first time since the April ceasefire.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment