Two freight trains, which will become part of the Viking container train project, will travel from China through Azerbaijan to the Georgian port of Poti between late July and early August. The Azerbaijani Railways company’s head Javid Gurbanov announced this to reporters on 9 June, the Trend publication reports.
According to Gurbanov, DHL, a major logistics company, will be involved.
"Two trains will travel from China to Kazakhstan's Dostyk station in late July-early August. From there, on the Trans-Caspian route, i.e. through the sea and the territory of Azerbaijan, the train will arrive in the Georgian port of Poti, where the goods will be distributed according to their destination. Some of them will go to the Baltic countries under the Viking route project,” Gurbanov said.
Related: Ukraine And Three Countries Agree Single Tariff For Railway Freight From India
As reported, the Ukrzaliznytsia public railway company announced in September 2015 that transportation of goods on Viking trains from China to Europe was a possibility. The relevant protocol was signed during a meeting of the heads of the railways of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Ukraine on the issue of creation of competitive tariff conditions for cargo transportation on the Asia-Europe-Asia route, which took place in Odessa on 11 September 2015.
The Viking rail project was launched in 2003. The participants in the project are Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, and, from 2012, Bulgaria. The total length of the Illichivsk (Ukraine)-Minsk (Belarus)-Draugyste (Lithuania) route is 1,766 kilometers.
