The Baku suburban railway ( az, Bakı şəhərətrafı dəmir yolu) or Absheron Circular line ( az, Abşeron dairəvi xətti) is a

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

service which began in 2019, serving the

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

i capital

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

Background

In 2016, Chairman of Azerbaijan Railways Javid Gurbanov confirmed that work was underway on a railway line to Heydar Aliyev International Airport from Baku's main station. In 2018, president

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev ( az, İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev, ; born 24 December 1961) is the fourth president of Azerbaijan, serving in the post since 31 October 2003. The son and second child of the former Azerbaijani leader Heydar Aliyev, ...

announced funding for a suburban rail service for Baku. The 100 million manat project was to include upgrading the existing railway between Baku and Sumqayıt via

Biləcəri Biləcəri (also, Baku, Baladjary, Biläcäri, Baladžary, and Baladzhary) is a settlement and municipality in Baku, Azerbaijan. It has a population of 45,008. The municipality consists of the settlements of Biləcəri and Sulutəpə. Notable n ...

, as well as bring back into use the disused route connecting the two cities via Sabunçu and Pirşağı. The plans included 23 stations on the route, which would also have branches to Dübandi and Maştağa, with a branch serving the airport being built in a later phase. The initial phase of the service was launched in May 2019, connecting Baku station with Sabunçu via four intermediate stations. By 2020, the line was extended to Sumqayit, linking to the existing Baku–Sumqayit railway to form a circle line.

Stations

At its 2019 opening, the suburban railway served seven stations. In 2020 seven stations were added, bringing the total to 14. * Baku Central * Keshla * Koroğlu *

Bakıxanov Bakıxanov () is a settlement and municipality in Baku, Azerbaijan. It was named after Abbasgulu Bakikhanov Abbasgulu agha Bakikhanov ( az, Abbasqulu ağa Bakıxanov) (21 June 1794, Amirjan – 31 May 1847, Wadi Fatima, near Jeddah), Abbas Qo ...

* Sabunçu *

Zabrat Zabrat (also, Sabrat) is a settlement and municipality in Baku, Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country ...

1 *

2 * Məmmədli *

Pirşağı Pirşağı (also, Pirshaga and Pirshagi) is a settlement and municipality 34 km away from the railway station of Baku, Azerbaijan. Located on the northern coast of Absheron, it is in the Sabunchu district of Baku city. It is called Pirshag ...

* Goradil *

Novxanı Novxanı (also, Novkhany, Novkhana, Novxana, and Nobkhana) is a village and municipality in the Absheron District of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 4,468. The name means ''new house'' in Persian language. Notable natives * Azim Azimzade — ...

* Sumqayit *

Xırdalan Xırdalan () is a city, municipality and the capital of the Absheron District of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 95,200. Khyrdalan is home of country's biggest brewery ''Baltika Baku'', previously known as Khyrdalan . A monument to Egyptian pres ...

History

The first

Elektrichka Elektrichka (russian: электри́чка, p=əlʲɪˈktrʲitɕkə; uk, електри́чка, elektrychka) is a Soviet and Eastern bloc commuter (regional) mostly suburban electrical multiple unit passenger train. Elektrichkas are widespr ...

ran on July 6, 1926, along the Baku–Sabunchi line in Soviet Azerbaijan.

Rolling stock

Current

ESh2-019 (since 2019) ES2-020 (1), Baku, 2017-09.jpg, Stadler KISS electric multiple unit at Baku

Former

ER9 (1926-2004) Id er9-30.jpg, alt=Green-and-orange electrified train, ER9 ''elektrichka''

Future plans

13 more stations are planned toward to the east, including Baku International Airport.

References

External links

{{Commonscat, Baku suburban railway Rail transport in Azerbaijan 2019 establishments in Azerbaijan Railway lines opened in 2019