Azerbaijan Railways and Russian Railways To Exchange E-Data For Improved Freight Management

Azerbaijan Railways (AZD) and Russian Railways (RZD) have signed an agreement on the bilateral exchange of e-data, AZD has announced. The respective parties signed the document on Wednesday in Baku following a meeting between AZD CEO Rovshan Rustamov and RZD CEO Oleg Belozerov.

AZD stated that “The agreement will allow significantly improving the efficiency of freight transportation and implementing digital document management.”

Rustamov and Belozerov also discussed issues on developing cooperation and strengthening interaction between the two countries’ railway operators, improving the efficiency of routes, and ensuring safety in transportation processes, with AZD adding that “We exchanged views on operations related to digitalization of freight transportation, including implementing digital solutions, accelerating data exchange, and optimizing the logistics chain.”

In 2020, Russia and Azerbaijan’s bilateral rail freight was 546,000 tons. However, the development of multi-modal transport corridors, and especially the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), has had a huge impact on Russia-Azerbaijan transport infrastructure, and especially the railway connectivity.

By 2024, this refocus on developing the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC), and specifically the western route through Azerbaijan, led to a significant increase in transit cargo, reaching 814,000 tons. That was driven by infrastructure upgrades such as the Astara freight terminal, with both countries also continuing to work to modernize and expand their railway infrastructure and streamline services.

The two countries have a general goal of reaching 15 million tons per year of transit and bilateral cargo by 2030. Some projections suggest this figure could go up to 30 million tons if the INSTC’s expansion—which includes required developments in Iran – is fully realized.