Tracks of Peace: Armenia and Turkey Reopen Historic Rail Link After 31 Years

After three decades of silence, steel tracks between Armenia and Turkey are set to echo once again. The long-abandoned Gyumri–Kars railway connection will be restored under the aptly named 'Crossroads of Peace' initiative, promising to transform regional logistics and reforge economic ties between Europe, the Middle East, and the Caucasus.

The line, originally built in the 19th century between the Ottoman Empire and Tsarist Russia, has been closed since 1993, when Turkey imposed a blockade on Armenia in solidarity with Azerbaijan during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. That standoff effectively froze cross-border rail infrastructure in the South Caucasus, severely limiting Armenia’s access to regional and global markets.

The 2023 military reintegration of Nagorno-Karabakh into Azerbaijan marked the end of an era and unlocked new geopolitical dynamics. With support from the United States, Armenia and Turkey are now collaborating on reopening the Akhuryk–Akyaka border crossing, with rail infrastructure renovations scheduled to begin in 2025. The USD 32.4 million project will take about a year to complete. Armenian officials confirmed they are relying on American financial assistance to co-fund their side of the works.

Reconnecting Eurasia: Gyumri–Kars Railway to Bridge Europe and the Middle East

While the symbolic weight of the agreement is immense, the practical implications are even broader. The restored rail link will integrate Armenia more deeply into Eurasian logistics, enabling freight transport eastward to Azerbaijan and Iran, and westward into the European Union via Turkey. For landlocked Armenia, which has long suffered from limited connectivity, this route opens a much-needed economic lifeline.

The initiative will also boost the economy of eastern Turkey, whose peripheral provinces have historically lacked access to international freight corridors. Once the link is active, these areas are expected to become strategic transit hubs, reshaping their economic profiles and drawing interest from the private logistics sector.

Diplomatic developments could further accelerate the project’s impact. Negotiations between the United States and Iran over the revival of the Iran nuclear agreement could lead to a loosening of sanctions and the reopening of trade channels between Europe, Turkey, and the Middle East. If realised, this geopolitical thaw would significantly increase demand for east-west rail freight capacity, giving the Gyumri–Kars line newfound relevance.

From Isolation to Integration: How Armenia's Rail Link Could Reshape Regional Trade

Azerbaijan is also interested in connecting to Turkey via Armenia, though that plan presents both diplomatic and technical challenges. A trilateral agreement would need to be reached between Baku, Yerevan, and Ankara to facilitate a transit corridor, and the mountainous terrain between Armenia and Azerbaijan has never hosted a railway. Still, construction has already begun on the Azerbaijani side, with over 60% of the new line from Baku to the Armenian border already completed.

Sources: PanArmenian.net, Railway Supply