The Georgian Railway Company is holding a presentation of the Modernization Project at the Paragraph Hotel. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Mariam Kvrivishvili are attending the event.

The project aims to significantly upgrade infrastructure and rolling stock, which serves to strengthen the country’s transport and logistics potential. The Georgian Railway intends to purchase approximately 50 locomotives and 1,500 train carriages to increase cargo transportation volume. The company will also purchase 10 new passenger trains and reconstruct train stations.

New routes will be added, such as Tbilisi-Kutaisi-Tbilisi and Tbilisi-Akhaltsikhe-Tbilisi. Starting from the summer season, trains will take passengers from Tbilisi to Batumi in four hours. It is also planned to restore the Borjomi-Bakuriani railway line. The so-called “Kukushka” will serve passengers from January next year.

Through staff optimization and reduction of administrative costs, the Georgian Railway maintains a growing trend in operating revenues and profits.

The total savings from the optimization exceeded 230 million GEL, while the company’s net profit increased by 30% over the past year. The company achieved significant progress in terms of profitability – the operating profit margin has increased from 25% to 36%, and the throughput of the main railway line has improved by 30%. The time for crossing the country has been reduced by 20%.

At the meeting, the significance of the Middle Corridor was emphasised, stressing that the country is ready to take the responsibility as the guarantor partner of stability and quality.

“As a result of active international cooperation with Azerbaijan, Central Asian countries, and China, the Middle Corridor is already emerging as a real and competitive alternative to global trade. As a result of successful negotiations with China, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan, services were digitized and border procedure times were reduced by 7.5 times (from 15 to 2 hours),” the Georgian Railway said.