In 2020, the South Caucasian Railway Recorded a Decline in Cargo and Passenger Transport Volumes

As per the results of 2020, the South Caucasian Railway Company recorded a certain decline in freight transport and a significant reduction in passenger transport volumes. In the past year, a total of 3 million 201 thousand tons of cargo was transported by rail, which is a 0.4 percent decrease compared to 2019, when the freight volume amounted to 3 million 212.5 thousand tons.

The railway exports and imports have also decreased, with exports totaling 483.5 thousand tons (a decline of 14.4%) and imports totaling 695.0 thousand tons (a decline of 15.0%). The decrease in freight transport was partially compensated by an increase in domestic cargo transportation.

In 2020, a total of 304.6 thousand passengers were transported, which represents a 28.6 percent decrease from the figures in 2019. The primary reason for the drop in passenger numbers was the suspension of international passenger transport starting March of the previous year, resulting in merely 3.4 thousand passengers transported in international communication. By comparison, this figure exceeded 72.8 thousand in 2019. In local communication, 301.1 thousand passengers were transported last year.

At the same time, the company's revenue from transport operations decreased by 6.2 percent annually.