Railway section from Gyumri to Turkish border ready for operation
10.06.2014,
16:17
A section of the railway line that runs from the city of Gyumri in Armenia to the city of Kars in Turkey is ready for operation, according to Viktor Rebets, CEO of the South Caucasus Railways (SCR), a Russian company operating Armenia’s railroads.
YEREVAN, June 10. / ARKA /. A section of the railway line that runs from the city of Gyumri in Armenia to the city of Kars in Turkey is ready for operation, according to Viktor Rebets, CEO of the South Caucasus Railways (SCR), a Russian company operating Armenia’s railroads.
Speaking at a news conference today Rebets said a few years ago the company had done a great deal of work to restore the section of the railway stretching up to the station on Border with Turkey.
Rebets stressed that for the opening of the railway from Kars to Gyumri a political decision is needed. The railway from Kars to Gyumri was built during the time of the Russian Empire.
On October 11, 1961 the former USRR and Turkey signed an agreement on direct rail transport. The last train from Turkey crossed into Armenia in 1993 July.
Relations between Armenia and Turkey remain tense because of Ankara’s biased stance on Karabakh problem and its painful reaction to Armenia’s efforts to obtain worldwide recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
South Caucasus Railways is a 100% subsidiary of state-run Russian Railways that was awarded a concesional management of SCR. The 30 year contract was signed in 2008. It can be prolonged for another 10 years. -0-
