The story
1878–1917
The first railway line in Azerbaijan, then belonging to the Russian Empire was laid in 1878 and was opened in 1880 within the suburban range of Baku, which led from Sabunçu to Suraxanı, today situated within the city of Baku. The track width corresponded to the Russian 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) gauge.
The first long-distance railway line was opened in 1883, which led from Baku to Tbilisi in Georgia.
In 1900 railway lines were opened that connected Baku via Biləcəri with Derbent and Petrovsk (Makhachkala) in Dagestan and thus connected Azerbaijan with the rest of the Russian Empire (and later the Soviet Union).
In 1908, with the extension of the railway line from Ararat in Armenia to Şərur and Julfa in the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan, this part of Azerbaijan was connected with Armenia.
Thus, the development of the Azerbaijani Railway was, for the time being, considered final.
1917–1991
After the collapse of the Russian Empire and the Russian Revolution, the country was transformed into the Soviet Union and the Russian Imperial Railways into the Soviet Railways.
Due to the availability of electricity from the vast water power sources of Azerbaijan, the very early electrification of the railway lines of Azerbaijan began.
In 1926, with the electrification with 1,2 kV (1,200 V) direct current of the railway line between Baku and Sabunçu, it became the first electrically operated railway line of the Soviet Union. Later electrifications took place with 3 kV (3,000 V) direct current.
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In 1924, the railway line was extended southwards to Ələt and Neftçala.
In 1941, the railway line was extended from Horadiz and Mincivan through Armenia, including a railway line extension to Kapan, to Julfa in the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan. Thus the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan was finally connected with Azerbaijan proper.
In 1941, the railway line was also extended southwards to Astara, Azerbaijan at the southern border with Iran.
In 1944, the railway line was extended to Kətəlparaq, Ağdam and Stepanakert (Xankəndi).
Until 1991, the railway traffic was operated in Azerbaijan by the Soviet Railway under the supervision of the Soviet Traffic Ministry. The Azerbaijani branch of the Soviet Railways was divided into three departments of Baku, Gəncə and Nakhchivan City.
1991–present
With the independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 1991, the Azerbaijan State Railways (Azərbaycan Dövlət Dəmir Yolları) was formed the same year.
Due to the conflict with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in Azerbaijan, the railway service in the Armenian occupied areas of Azerbaijan, including Nagorno-Karabakh as well as international railway traffic to Armenia, has been cut. As a result, 240.4 km of Azerbaijani railway was under Armenian occupation.
In freight traffic, the exportation of oil from the oil wells from Baku at the Caspian Sea to the Georgian port of Batumi at the Black Sea forms an important share of the rail transport in Azerbaijan:
The freight market share of the Azerbaijan State Railway was 21% in 1999.
In 2009, the closed joint-stock company "Azerbaijan Railways" (Azәrbaycan Dәmir Yolları Qapalı Səhmdar Cəmiyyəti, "ADY" QSC) - the national operator of the railway network in Azerbaijan with 100% state capital—was founded on the basis of the Azerbaijan State Railways, functionally replacing it.
The Kars–Tbilisi–Baku railway is a regional railway project to directly connect Turkey, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. The project was scheduled for completion in 2017. Although no additional railway lines will be added in Azerbaijan itself, as this section in Azerbaijan is already double track and electrified, the railway lines will be modernized, and new and fast rail stock will be added and will replace the old rail stock, which is still in service. The freight market share of the railways is also expected to rise rapidly with the completion of the Kars–Tbilisi–Baku railway.
Stadler is to supply double-deck EMUs to Azerbaijan. An agreement for the supply of five Kiss double-deck electric multiple-units was signed by Stadler Rail CEO Peter Spuhler and Javid Gurbanov, Chairman of national railway ADY, at the TransCaspian 2015 trade fair in Baku on May 13.
National railway ADY has placed a €300 million order for 50 Alstom KZ8A twin-section 25 kV AC electric freight locomotives. Also, September 7, 2015, Alstom has begun developing the components for AZ8A freight electric locomotives, intended for supply to Azerbaijan.
Baku suburban railway
In 2019, a commuter railway in Baku was launched, connecting it to Sabunçu. Also it was extended to Sumgait city.
From Wikipedia’s article on Azerbaijan Railways, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4