ARMENIA TO LAUNCH A THROUGH RAILWAY SERVICE TO GEORGIAN PORT

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
June 16, 2006 Friday 06:50 PM EST

A ceremony of opening a through railway service to the Georgian port
city of Batumi will be held in the Armenian capital Yerevan Saturday.

"Under an agreement between Georgia and Armenia, a passenger train
will begin cruising between Yerevan and Batumi as of June 17," an
official at the Georgian Economic Development Ministry said.

The route will be serviced in turns by Georgian and Armenian railway
organizations. Trains consisting of six coaches will depart from
Yerevan on odd-numbered days of the month and from Batumil, on
even-numbered days.

A through passenger service between Yerevan and Batumi was non-existent
even during the Soviet era, when several Yerevan-to-Batumi coaches
were included in the trains bound for the Georgian capital Tbilisi,
where they were reattached to the trains bound for Batumi.

In the post-Soviet years, the route was non-existent either.

Nor will the trains bypass Tbilisi this time, too, since the only
railway route is via the Georgian capital.

Armenian Transport Minister, Georgian Economic Development Minister
as well as top railway officials from both countries will take part
in the gala ceremony in Yerevan.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress