BAKU, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Two weeks after launching of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway project, participants of Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) association signed a final protocol reducing BTK transportation costs for 2018, local Azerbaijan State News Agency said Wednesday.
The appropriate protocol was signed here on Wednesday by railway officials of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Turkey.
The document envisages reduction of transportation costs along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route and Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway for the next year.
The transportation plan for 2018 along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route has been approved at the level of more than 3.5 million tons.
About 15,000 containers are expected to be transported from Turkey to Kazakhstan, Central Asia and China.
It is planned to transport 7-8 million tons of cargo along the TITR by the end of 2020.
The parties have also approved a final report on the association's work in 2017, a plan for transportation and budget for 2018, the membership fees and other important issues.
The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route was established to provide transport connections between the East and West of Eurasia, transporting goods from China through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia to Europe via Turkey and Ukraine.
The first test container train arrived in the Baku international sea trade port from China via the route in August, 2015.
In January 2016, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Ukraine decided to apply competitive tariffs for cargo transportation via the route.
In October 2016, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia signed an agreement to establish the TITR association with its office in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.
On Oct. 30, 2017, the leaders of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia launched an 826-kilometer BTK rail line, establishing a freight and passenger link between Europe and China.
The line, which includes 105 kilometers of new track, will have the capacity to transport one million passengers and 5 million tonnes of freight.
