Turkey has started construction of a 224-kilometer railway line worth $2.8 billion that will link the country with Nakhchivan via Azerbaijan, as reported by UNN with reference to Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SZRU). The project will form part of the “Middle Corridor” — a trade route between China and Europe that bypasses Russia.
The Kars–Iğdır–Aralık–Dilucu railway is expected to carry up to 15 million tons of cargo and 5.5 million passengers annually. Construction plans include five tunnels with a total length of 20 km, three viaducts, and dozens of bridges.
Completion is scheduled for 2029. According to SZRU, the project will create around 15,000 jobs, increase Eastern Anatolia’s GDP by 5–7%, and shorten delivery times from Asia to Europe by 10–15 days. Most importantly, it will divert cargo flows away from Russian and Iranian routes, reducing Moscow’s role in the Eurasian transport market.
