President Ilham Aliyev: “There has been tremendous improvement after I appointed Javid Gurbanov to this position”

“Today we inaugurated a new railway line. Pirshaghi station was put into service. All the stations all the way to the city meet highest standards. This once again demonstrates the might of Azerbaijan," President Ilham Aliyev said during the meeting with railway workers at the opening ceremony of Sabunchu-Pirshaghi line of Baku circular railroad after major structural repairs.

According to Report News Agency, the head of the state stressed that enormous amount of work has been carried out towards the revitalization of railways:

“I have already pronounced these numbers. According to the report on the quality of railways in Azerbaijan by Davos World Economic Forum, which is one of the most significant international organizations, Azerbaijan ranks 12th in terms of the efficiency of its railways, and 34th in terms of the quality of railway services. We have achieved all this within recent years. There has been significant improvement in the rehabilitation, reestablishment and improvement in the railway services in recent years, especially after I appointed Javid Gurbanov to this position. Azerbaijan has transformed into one of the main international transport hubs, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line has been put into operation, North-South transport corridor is already operational, freight forwarding is rapidly increasing, as well as, transport infrastructure is being renewed in the country, Swiss made new and modern “Stadler” wagons have been purchased. I opine that these wagons are the most beautiful and safest worldwide."

Mr. President also noted that new railway lines and stations are being established, suburban railway line is being successfully constructed:

“I extremely comfortably travelled from Pirshaghi to Baku today. Sumgayit-Pirshaghi railway line will be connected next year to form a circular railway line. Additional allocations are envisaged in the investment program for the next year for enhancing the railway network.

"Railways increase our economic power, Azerbaijan is becoming an important railway destination for a number of countries, also, it has great importance for the wellbeing of citizens. Look at the changes that Baku-Ganja high-speed railway line brings to our country. Now, the work towards the establishment of Ganja-Aghstafa high-speed railway line is underway. These are the upcoming tasks. We are planning to construct a railway line to Gabala and Shahdagh. Reconstruction of Baku-Yalama and Astara-Alat railway lines is also envisaged. We have a lot of work to do. I congratulate railway workers for the tasks fulfilled. I wish you every success”.