Baku suburban railway

The Baku suburban railway or Absheron Circular Railway (Azerbaijani: Bakı şəhərətrafı dəmir yolu) is a 91 km (57 mi) commuter rail service which began in 2019, serving the Azerbaijani capital Baku.[2]

Baku suburban railway
Baku suburban railway and metro map
Overview
LocaleBaku, Azerbaijan
Transit typeCommuter rail
Number of lines2
Number of stations15
Operation
Began operation21 May 2019
Operator(s)Azerbaijan Railways
Technical
System length91 km (57 mi)[1]
Track gauge1,520 mm (4 ft 11 27⁄32 in) Russian gauge

Background
ESh2-019 Stadler electric train heading towards Sumqayıt station

In 2016, Chairman of Azerbaijan Railways Javid Gurbanov confirmed work is underway on a 25 km (16 mi) railway line to Heydar Aliyev International Airport from Baku's main station.[3]

In 2018, president Ilham Aliyev announced funding for a suburban rail service for Baku. [4] The 100 million manat project will include upgrading the existing railway between Baku and Sumqayıt via Biləcəri, as well as bringing back into use the disused route connecting the two cities via Sabunçu and Pirşağı. The plans included 23 stations on the route, which would also have branches to Dübandi and Maştağa, with a branch serving the airport being built under a later phase.

The initial phase of the service was launched in May 2019, connecting Baku station with Sabunçu via four intermediate stations.[5][6] By 2020, the line was extended to Sumqayit, linking to the existing Baku–Sumqayit railway to form a circle line.

Stations
ESh2-009 Stadler electric train at Bakıxanov station

At its 2019 opening, the suburban railway served seven stations.[7] In 2020 eight stations were added, bringing the total number to 15 stations.[8]

References
  1. "Baku circular railway completed". Railway Gazette. 19 March 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  2. "Baku suburban railway planned". Railway Gazette. 21 February 2018.
  3. "Suburban railway line being expanded". AzerNews. 28 September 2016.
  4. "Funding approved for Baku suburban railway". Railway Pro. 14 March 2018.
  5. "Baku suburban railway phase one launched". Railway Gazette. 24 May 2019.
  6. "President inaugurates Baku suburban railway first phase". Metro Report. 24 May 2019.
  7. "Railway line to be laid to Heydar Aliyev International Airport". AzerNews. 22 May 2019.
  8. "Abşeron dairəvi dəmir yolu bu gündən etibarən işləyir – Cədvəl". banker.az (in Azerbaijani). 20 March 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
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