Hi everyone I’m from Turkey, and recently I’ve been reading about railway projects in the region. I came across the Kars–Iğdır–Dilucu railway project, and it made me curious about Armenia’s perspective.
Turkey already has the Istanbul–Ankara–Sivas high-speed rail line, and there are plans to extend it further east toward Erzincan, Erzurum, and eventually Kars. But this will probably take a long time, since it is still mostly in the planning stage.
At the same time, Turkey is currently building the Kars–Iğdır–Dilucu railway, which is expected to be completed around 2028. it will connect toward Nakhchivan, but not directly toward Yerevan. I was a bit disappointed by that, because a connection between Kars and Yerevan seems like it could be very useful in the future.
So I wanted to ask does Armenian government have any plans to connect to this railway line ? A railway between ığdır and Yerevan would be wonderful
I’m also curious about the railway gauge issue. Turkey and most of Europe use standard gauge, while Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan use Russian gauge.
This remains a significant barrier to European rail connectivity. Are there any active discussions in Armenia regarding a transition to standard gauge or the implementation of dual-gauge tracks?
In the long term, Turkey is also planning more railway connections toward Georgia via Black Sea, and Iraq via Diyarbakır. The Istanbul–Edirne–Bulgaria high-speed line is also expected to open around 2028. I personally think it would be great if one day these routes could connect Turkey, Armenia, the Caucasus, and Europe more directly.
Do you guys think a railway connection through Kars and toward Turkey be useful for Armenia, or does it still feel too politically unrealistic for now?