South Caucasus Railway
South Caucasus Railway is the sole railway company in Armenia, owned by Russian Railways, responsible for all inter-city, commuter, and freight rail transport in Armenia. The network consists of 780 kilometers of track with all lines in the Russian gauge. Railroads in Armenia are 100% electrified.
Main information
On 13 February 2008, the Government of Armenia signed an agreement to transfer 100% of the state-owned Armenian Railways to Russian Railways. According to the agreement, the concession period is 30 years, with a possible extension for another 10 years by mutual agreement of the parties. In accordance with the terms of the tender, existing railway employees, except those of retirement age, were transferred to the staff of South Caucasus Railway on salary increases of up to 20%.Routes
South Caucasus Railway currently operates the following services:1. Armenia–Georgia express/sleeper service: Yerevan to Tbilisi / Batumi via Gyumri and Vanadzor
2. Yerevan to Araks / Gyumri - 3 services a day plus 1 additional short journey to Araks, and a weekend express service. An onward branch from Gyumri to Artik, Pemzashen and Maralik has not run a passenger service since 2013, whilst a freight only line also branches from Armavir to the Metsamor power plant.
3. Yerevan to Ararat & Yeraskh - 1 service a day
4. Summer-only service from Yerevan to Hrazdan, Sevan and Shorzha
The latter route is used year round by freight trains, running beyond Shorzha to transport gold ore from Sotk mine just beyond Vardenis back via the Yerevan western bypass freight railway line to the refinery in Ararat.
A link also exists to the Yerevan Metro at Charbakh Depot via the Karmir Blur siding.
Rolling stock
Passenger trips are served by two types of trains: Soviet ER2 and modern EP2D trains.The Soviet ER2 trains consist of 3-4 cars, and run on Yerevan - Araks, Yerevan - Gyumri, and Almast - Shorzha routes.
EP2D trains consist of 2 cars, and run on the Yerevan - Yeraskh, Yerevan - Gyumri, and the Yerevan - Gyumri weekend express routes.
International links
- Azerbaijan – closed – same gauge
- [Rail transport in Rail transport in Georgia (country)|Georgia (country)|Georgia] – open – same gauge
- Iran – via Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan enclave – closed – break of gauge – /
- Turkey – Akhuryan/Doğukapı, closed since 1993 – break of gauge -/