Reuters UK
Aug 17 2008

Damaged Georgian railway open in 10 days: official

Sun Aug 17, 2008 12:52pm BST

TBILISI (Reuters) – A major Georgian railway that delivers Azeri oil
exports to European markets will be reopened within 10 days following
its destruction on Saturday, Georgian Railways said on Sunday.

Traffic on the railway, which also links Armenia to Georgia’s Black
Sea coast, was halted after a bridge was destroyed near the western
Georgian town of Kaspi. Tbilisi accused Russian forces of attacking
the bridge, but Russia denied this.

"The construction or repair works are expected to be completed within
10 days maximum," Irma Stepnadze, a spokeswoman for Georgian Ralways
said.

She said engineers and workers from neighboring Armenia and Azerbaijan
were expected to arrive in Georgia on Sunday to help with
reconstruction. They were also bringing specialist equipment.

A pipeline running from the Caspian Sea to Russia’s Black Sea port of
Novorossiisk currently remains Azerbaijan’s only oil export outlet.

The Georgian railway line runs through Tbilisi and the
Russian-occupied Georgian town of Gori, before splitting in three and
running to the Black Sea ports of Poti and Batumi and southwest to
just short of the Turkish border.

Azerbaijan, emerging as an important oil supplier to the West and
whose fast economic growth heavily depends on revenues from oil
exports from the land-locked Caspian Sea, last week suspended crude
shipments via its key, BP-operated (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research)
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan link to Turkey after a fire damaged it.

Earlier this week BP closed the pipeline taking crude from
Azerbaijan’s Caspian port of Baku to the Georgian port of Supsa on the
Black Sea, citing fighting between Georgian and Russian troops.