BAKU, Azerbaijan - Additional Baku-Tbilisi passenger trains will enter service on Nov. 1, expanding the route to four daily trips and introducing standard-class fares starting at 36 manats, or about $21.
The expanded schedule will increase available seats by nearly 50%, from 386 to 564, according to Azerbaijan Railways, or ADY. The new budget option will cost roughly 30% less than the existing Comfort-class service, Vesti Baku reported.
Ticket Prices by Departure Station
The minimum one-way fare to Tbilisi will be 54 manats, or about $32, from Baku; 44 manats, or about $26, from Yevlakh; 41 manats, or about $24, from Ganja; 38 manats, or about $22, from Aghstafa; and 36 manats, or about $21, from Boyuk Kesik.
By comparison, minimum fares in Stadler Comfort-class carriages currently stand at 77.50 manats, about $46, from Baku and 56.80 manats, about $33, from Ganja.
Daytime and Overnight Schedules
The existing overnight train will depart Baku at 11:10 p.m. and arrive in Tbilisi at 8:41 a.m. the following day. The return service will leave Tbilisi at 11 a.m. and reach Baku at 8:26 p.m.
The new daytime train will leave Baku at 9:10 a.m. and arrive in Tbilisi at 7:11 p.m. In the opposite direction, it will depart Tbilisi at 10 p.m. and arrive in Baku at 7:57 a.m. the next day.
Passengers will be offered Standard, Standard Plus and Business-class carriages. ADY said the expansion followed joint technical and organizational preparations by Azerbaijan and Georgia.
Sources: Vesti Baku; APA; Report.