Alternative Transportation Routes for Armenia

Russian Railway Chief Proposes Alternative Transportation Routes for Armenia
Civil Georgia, Tbilisi 2004-11-04 11:52:20

Chief of the state-run Russian Railway Company Gennady Fadeev said while
visiting Armenia’s capital, Yerevan on October 3, that the railway route
linking Russia with Armenia via Georgia can be put into operation within a
year.

“In terms of financial and technical possibilities, the transport corridor
Sochi-Sokhumi-Tbilisi-Yerevan may be resumed within a year,” RIA Novosti
news agency quoted Fadeev as saying.

However, he added that “questions prevail over answers in this regard.”
He stressed the prospect of increasing the volume of Armenian-Russian
freight transportation through railway ferries.

“The fact that Russian freights are moving to Armenia through the Ukrainian
and Georgian ports of Ilichevsk and Poti, respectively, is nonsense,” Fadeev
said.

He said it is quite possible to open a ferry route between the Russian port
of Kavkaz and the Georgian port of Poti, which will be three times cheaper
than the current route via the Ukrainian port. Fadeev also added that “the
opinion of the Georgian side is very important in this regard.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress