At the Washington Summit on August 8, the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia, with the participation of US leader Donald Trump, reached an agreement on the opening of the Zangezur corridor (TRIPP). The 42-kilometer section of the corridor falling on the Armenian side will be under US control.
Recently, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan spoke about the Zangezur corridor.
“We openly state that the restoration of railway and other connections with Azerbaijan is a priority for Armenia. Because this transforms our country into one of the main beneficiaries of the regional economy. Experts state that the construction of the railway could take at least two years. But during this period, we can have the opportunity to send and receive goods using Azerbaijani territory,” he said.
The construction of the 42-kilometer short distance in 2 years, as stated by Ararat Mirzoyan, raises some questions. Is it not possible for such a short distance to actually be completed sooner?
Transport expert Rauf Aghamirzayev told Modern.az that several issues need to be considered here:
“If the railway follows the old route, it can be restored in a short time. Because in this case, artificial structures must be inspected. Most of the artificial structures are also sound. This can be done with some minor additions or cosmetic repairs. The daily capacity of a track layer for a railway is up to 600 thousand meters. Approximately within 6 months, the "rail-sleeper" cage of that road can be restored. If there are intentions to lay the railway line further north along a new route, then yes, this section is a mountainous area. The number of artificial structures, tunnel overpasses, will also be high there. Therefore, the duration may increase slightly.”
The expert emphasized that much depends on the chosen route and structure, including how many lanes the railway and highway will have:
“Because there are mountains here. The land area can be expanded by blasting these mountains. In certain areas, an overpass type with a railway underneath and a road on top can also be chosen. There is also the issue of intersecting points of north-south, east-west sections and their separation by junctions. There are some issues that can be resolved with the chosen route and technology. The main issue is which type of technology and route will be selected. Considering the stated period, the question arises as to which route they intend to implement this and how many types of artificial structures will be installed there?”
