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 Commuting, commuters to a Downtown, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter r ...

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 t ...

i capital Baku.

Background

In 2016, Chairman of Azerbaijan Railways Javid Gurbanov confirmed that work was underway on a railway line to

Heydar Aliyev International Airport Heydar Aliyev International Airport ( az, Heydar Aliyev adına Beynəlxalq Hava Limanı) (IATA: GYD, ICAO: UBBB) is one of the seven international airports serving Azerbaijan. Formerly, it was called Bina International Airport after a suburb of ...

from Baku's main station. In 2018, president Ilham 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 Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called th ...

, 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 Keşlə (; Кешлә, کشله; also Keshly, Keshlya, Kəşlə, Keşlä, Kešlæ, Kishly, Kishlya, Kishty, Kişli and Kitly) is a settlement and municipality in Baku, Azerbaijan. It has a population of 25,626. The Keshla area is becoming main b ...

* Koroğlu * Bakıxanov * Sabunçu * Zabrat 1 * Zabrat 2 * Məmmədli * Pirşağı * 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 Sumgait (; az, Sumqayıt, ) is a city in Azerbaijan, located near the Caspian Sea, on the Absheron Peninsula, about away from the capital Baku. The city has a population of around 345,300, making it the second largest city in Azerbaijan after Bak ...

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 pre ...

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