Georgia - General Information
Country Name
Georgia (Sakartvelo, საქართველო)
National railway system
Georgian railway[s] (RK): (Sakartvelos Rkinigsa, საქართველოს რკინიგზა)
The Azerbaijan and Georgian state railways currently hold sole responsibility for their sections of the Baku – Tbilisi – Kars railway. An equally-owned binational joint venture is to be set up to manage these sections once upgrading works ongoing in 2024 are completed. The 1435 mm gauge section between Akhalkalaki and the Turkish border at Kartsakhi is owned by Turkish State Railways (TCDD)
Abkhazian Railways (Аҧсны Аихамҩа), managed and partially owned by Russian Railways, operates the line between Sukhumi and the Russian border at Adler.
Official Website
- Georgian Railways www.railway.ge/?web=0&action=0&lang=eng
- Abkhazian Railways http://zkvzhd.abhazia.com/ in Cyrillic script
Language
Georgian
Currency
Lari (ლ) (GEL).
UIC code
numeric 28; alpha GR.
Timetable
Journey Planner
www.railway.ge/samg/searchTrains.aspx?lang=en-US
Downloadable Timetable
Georgian Railways
Some skeleton timetables are available on the Passenger Operations page and selecting one of the options from the Traffic Schedule tab:
- Traffic General Schedule
- International Trains
- Commuter Trains
The Regional Trains option gives the journey planner but full regional timetables are available here; click on 'English' if necessary.
However, a good privately compiled timetable is available.
Abkhazian Railways
The timetable is included in the Russian timetable site but only in Russian.
A 2010 timetable for the only line, Adler - Sukhumi, is given here.
Printed Timetable
None.
Engineering Information
None.
Maps
Printed Maps
- European Railway Atlas (All-Europe Edition) by M.G. Ball.
- World Rail Atlas - The Middle East and Caucasus by Neil Robinson.
Web-based Maps
- Map of Georgia and Abkhazia on wayback machine - a single sheet map dated June 2009.
Ticketing
Tickets on regional trains cost 1 lari regardless of the distance travelled - extremely cheap in comparison with the relatively expensive fast trains. There are ticket machines on board the trains. Tickets cost more if the train is boarded at large stations.
Infrastructure
Infrastructure Authority
There is no separate Infrastructure Authority. The Directorate of Infrastructure is part of Georgian Railways.
Gauge
"Russian" gauge (1520mm). The Borjomi - Bakuriani line is 900 mm and the New Athos Cave Railway 914 mm. The new Kartsakhi - Karakale - Mezra [- Kars] line is 1435 mm.
Electrification
3000 V dc. The The Borjomi - Bakuriani line is 1500 V dc and the New Athos Cave Railway 300 V dc.
Rule of the road
Right.
Other railways
None.
Tourist lines
The Borjomi to Bakuriani line serves ski resorts. There is a children's railway in Mushtaidi Park, Tbilisi.
There is also the 1.3 km New Athos Cave Railway with a basic basic description and line diagram.
The 750 mm narrow gauge Small Transcaucasian Railway is located in Mushtaidi Park (formerly: Sergo Ordjnikidse Park) in Tbilisi. More information at the Children's Railways 'Dyetsky Zhelezny Dorogy' (DZD) Web site (partly in English) Tbilisi Children's Railway.
Metro
Tbilisi
The UrabnRailNet site has a basic diagram of the metro along with a link to the local operator.
A metro track map is available at Popov Metro maps captioned in Cyrillic.
Trams/LRT-Systems
The Tbilisi tram system finally closed in December 2006.
There are plans to construct a new tram network in Tbilisi.
Recent and future changes
Tunnelling work was completed on 21 November 2017 on the new Kvishkheti - Zvare tunnel. This forms part of the upgrade of the line from Tbilisi to Makhindzhauri on the Black Sea coast, due for completion in 2019.
The [Tbilisi - Marabda - Akhalkalaki -] Kartsakhi - Karakale - Mezra [- Kars] 1435 mm gauge line between a junction east of Akhalkalaki (RK) and Mezra (TCDD), 13 km east of Kars, was ceremonially opened on 30 October 2017. Freight services started the following day. It was expected that passenger services (an overnight train sourced by ADY) would follow in late 2018 but delivery of the rolling stock started only in March 2019 owing to financial problems. The train was expected to start running in August 2019 but never did. A 183 km section of the line from Azerbaijan closed in 2023 for substantial reconstruction but reopened for freight on 20 May 2024. Whether the passenger service will now start remains to be seen.
The ხაშური/Chašuri – სურამი/Surami and ბროწეულა/Broceula – ქუთაისი-2/Kutaisi-2 – წყალტუბო/Cchaltubo lines (page 55 of the World Rail Atlas) were temporarily closed from 30 March 2012.
Special Notes
Georgia contains two de facto independent regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which gained limited international recognition after the 2008 South Ossetia war between Georgia and Russia. Georgia still considers these regions to be its sovereign territory. However, the lines located in Abkhazia and South Ossetia are not under control of Georgian Railways. The lines from Nikozi to Tskhinvali (5 km) and from Ochamchira to the Inguri River are not in use. Much of the track and overhead on these lines has been looted, and stations such as Gali have been destroyed or heavily damaged. The lines from the Psou River to Ochamchira and from Ochamchira to Tkvarcheli are operated by Abkhazian Railways (AZD).