Reopening of railway between Armenia, Turkey technically impossible

Mediamax, Armenia
Aug 22 2008

REOPENING OF RAILWAY BETWEEN ARMENIA, TURKEY TECHNICALLY IMPOSSIBLE

Yerevan, 22 August: The temporary launch of a railway between Turkey
and Armenia is technically impossible, the director-general of the
South Caucasus railway closed-type joint stock company (SCR),
Aleksandr Kuznetsov, told Mediamax today.

He said that the railway communication between Igdir and Yerevan has
not been operating since 1993, and a major overhaul is needed to
resume the railway communication.

However, Kuznetsov pointed out the SCR’s readiness to resume the
railway communication with Turkey.

On 20 August a group of young Turks asked Turkish President Abdullah
Gul to reopen the Igdir-Yerevan railway for a day so that they could
travel to Armenia to watch a football match between the Armenian and
Turkish national teams on 6 September.