Rail transport in Abkhazia
Encyclopedia
The Abkhazian railway consists of a 101 km (62.8 mi) rail line along the Black Sea
coast. Built to standard Russian gauge
, it connected Russia's North Caucasus Railway
with Georgian railways prior to 1992;. The connection with Georgia
was severed as a result of the War in Abkhazia. The railway is administered by the state-run Abkhazskaya Zheleznaya Doroga company.
As of 2010, there was one regular long-distance train Moscow
-Sukhumi
, Adler
-Gagra
elektrichka
and occasional freight traffic.
and damaging of the Transcaucasian Railway lines, the Samtredskoye part to the west of the Inguri River came under control of the Abkhazian railway.
The bridge over the Inguri River was blown up on 14 August 1992, on the day, when Georgian
forces entered Abkhazia and which is considered as the beginning of the War in Abkhazia. The pretext for sending the Georgian National Guard to Abkhazia in 1992, was to protect the railroad. The bridge was restored and blown up again in 1993, after the end of the war.
The track between Achigvara and the Inguri River was dismantled. The rest of the railways also suffered greatly during the war. Traffic was restored, after the war had ended. The railway system of Abkhazia was isolated in the 1990s, due to the blockade imposed by Russia.
On 25 December 2002 the Sochi
-Sukhumi
elektrichka
train made its first run since the war, which caused Georgian protests. As the number of Russian tourists greatly increased in the 2000s, the Psou-Sukhumi
section was mainly repaired by Russia in 2004 and on 10 September 2004 the Moscow-Sukhumi train came to the capital of Abkhazia.
The Ochamchira-Sukhumi, Sochi-Sukhumi and Tkvarcheli-Sukhumi elektrichka
s, that operated at some periods since 1993, no longer worked by 2007, due to various infrastructure problems. The last of them, Gudauta
-Sukhumi, was closed down on the eve of 2008. Adler-Gagra train service was resumed on 26 June 2010 by the Don-Prigorod company.
There have been proposals to restore destroyed parts of the railway and reestablishing traffic between Russia and Trans-Caucasian countries of Armenia and Georgia. The alternative route through Azerbaijan is significantly longer and not available at all, in case of Armenia, due to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
. Georgia has long tied the restoration of traffic with the return of refugees to Abkhazia.
On 15 May 2009 the Abkhaz leader, Sergey Bagapsh, announced that Abkhazia's railway and airport would be transferred to Russia with management rights for ten years, a decision which caused a negative outcry in Abkhazia. According to the Abkhaz tycoon and opposition party leader, Beslan Butba, this has led to growing anti-Russian sentiments in Abkhazia.
Currently there is one daily train connection from the Russian Federation to Abkhazia, running from Adler to Sukhumi and returning the same day.
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
coast. Built to standard Russian gauge
Russian gauge
In railway terminology, Russian gauge refers to railway track with a gauge between 1,520 mm and . In a narrow sense as defined by Russian Railways it refers to gauge....
, it connected Russia's North Caucasus Railway
North Caucasus Railway
North Caucasus Railway is a broad gauge Russian railway network that links the Sea of Azov and Caspian Sea . It runs through ten federal subjects: Rostov Oblast, Krasnodar Krai, Stavropol Krai, Republic of Adygeya, Karachay-Cherkessia, North Ossetia, Ingushetia, Chechnya, Dagestan, and Kalmykia...
with Georgian railways prior to 1992;. The connection with Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
was severed as a result of the War in Abkhazia. The railway is administered by the state-run Abkhazskaya Zheleznaya Doroga company.
As of 2010, there was one regular long-distance train Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
-Sukhumi
Sukhumi
Sukhumi is the capital of Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. The city suffered heavily during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in the early 1990s.-Naming:...
, Adler
Adlersky City District
Adlersky City District is the southernmost of four city districts of the city of Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia, lying along the Black Sea coast near the southern Russian border with Abkhazia, Georgia...
-Gagra
Gagra
Gagra is a town in Abkhazia, Georgia’s breakaway republic, sprawling for 5 km on the northeast coast of the Black Sea, at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains...
elektrichka
Elektrichka
Elektrichka is an informal word for elektropoyezd , a Soviet or post-Soviet regional electrical multiple unit passenger train. Elektrichkas are widespread in Russia, Ukraine and other countries of the former Soviet Union....
and occasional freight traffic.
History
After the dissolution of the Soviet UnionDissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
and damaging of the Transcaucasian Railway lines, the Samtredskoye part to the west of the Inguri River came under control of the Abkhazian railway.
The bridge over the Inguri River was blown up on 14 August 1992, on the day, when Georgian
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
forces entered Abkhazia and which is considered as the beginning of the War in Abkhazia. The pretext for sending the Georgian National Guard to Abkhazia in 1992, was to protect the railroad. The bridge was restored and blown up again in 1993, after the end of the war.
The track between Achigvara and the Inguri River was dismantled. The rest of the railways also suffered greatly during the war. Traffic was restored, after the war had ended. The railway system of Abkhazia was isolated in the 1990s, due to the blockade imposed by Russia.
On 25 December 2002 the Sochi
Sochi
Sochi is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated just north of Russia's border with the de facto independent republic of Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast. Greater Sochi sprawls for along the shores of the Black Sea near the Caucasus Mountains...
-Sukhumi
Sukhumi
Sukhumi is the capital of Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. The city suffered heavily during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in the early 1990s.-Naming:...
elektrichka
Elektrichka
Elektrichka is an informal word for elektropoyezd , a Soviet or post-Soviet regional electrical multiple unit passenger train. Elektrichkas are widespread in Russia, Ukraine and other countries of the former Soviet Union....
train made its first run since the war, which caused Georgian protests. As the number of Russian tourists greatly increased in the 2000s, the Psou-Sukhumi
Sukhumi
Sukhumi is the capital of Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. The city suffered heavily during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in the early 1990s.-Naming:...
section was mainly repaired by Russia in 2004 and on 10 September 2004 the Moscow-Sukhumi train came to the capital of Abkhazia.
The Ochamchira-Sukhumi, Sochi-Sukhumi and Tkvarcheli-Sukhumi elektrichka
Elektrichka
Elektrichka is an informal word for elektropoyezd , a Soviet or post-Soviet regional electrical multiple unit passenger train. Elektrichkas are widespread in Russia, Ukraine and other countries of the former Soviet Union....
s, that operated at some periods since 1993, no longer worked by 2007, due to various infrastructure problems. The last of them, Gudauta
Gudauta
Gudauta is a town in Abkhazia and a centre of the eponymous district. It is situated on the Black Sea, 37 km northwest to Sukhumi, the capital of Abkhazia....
-Sukhumi, was closed down on the eve of 2008. Adler-Gagra train service was resumed on 26 June 2010 by the Don-Prigorod company.
There have been proposals to restore destroyed parts of the railway and reestablishing traffic between Russia and Trans-Caucasian countries of Armenia and Georgia. The alternative route through Azerbaijan is significantly longer and not available at all, in case of Armenia, due to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
Nagorno-Karabakh War
The Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the small enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by the Republic of Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan...
. Georgia has long tied the restoration of traffic with the return of refugees to Abkhazia.
On 15 May 2009 the Abkhaz leader, Sergey Bagapsh, announced that Abkhazia's railway and airport would be transferred to Russia with management rights for ten years, a decision which caused a negative outcry in Abkhazia. According to the Abkhaz tycoon and opposition party leader, Beslan Butba, this has led to growing anti-Russian sentiments in Abkhazia.
Currently there is one daily train connection from the Russian Federation to Abkhazia, running from Adler to Sukhumi and returning the same day.