Transport in Armenia

This article considers transport in Armenia.

Rail transport

Wide-gauge railway
Armenian Railways (arm. Հարավկովկասյան Երկաթուղի) carries out transportation of passengers in international passenger long-distance trains, suburban passenger trains and carries cargo. The Armenian railway belongs to the South Caucasus Railway, which in turn is a subsidiary of the Russian Railways.

The length of the operated railways is 725 km. 73 stations are located, of which 69 are active and 4 are inactive. The entire railway network is electrified. There are railway stations in Yerevan, Gyumri and Vanadzor. There are four interstate transitions – Ayrum – Sadakhlo (Georgia), Akhuryan – Dogukapi (Turkey), Yeraskh – Velidag (Azerbaijan) and Ijevan – Jafarli (Azerbaijan). Of these, only the Ayrum-Sadakhlo transition works. Aghuryan – Dogukapi is being restored also at the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border, which was closed at the initiative of Turkey since 1992 in connection with open support of Azerbaijan in the Armenian-Azerbaijani war of 1987-1994. will be immediately involved. Transitions with Azerbaijan are closed in connection with the Azerbaijani blockade because of the war imposed on Armenia against the population of Nagorno-Karabakh. The structure of the Armenian Railway includes three locomotive and two wagon depots:

Sanayi locomotive depot
Gyumri locomotive depot
Yerevan Locomotive Depot
Gyumri carload depot
Yerevan Carriage Depot

Trains run in interstate communication to Tbilisi and Batumi. There are 11 suburban trains that run mostly from Yerevan or Gyumri. There are several main active railway branches:

Kanaker (Yerevan) – Hrazdan – Sotq
Hrazdan – Ijevan
Yerevan – Masis
Yeraskh – Masis – Armavir – Gyumri
Armavir – Arshaluys
Gyumri-Ahuryan
Gyumri – Maralik
Gyumri-Vanadzor-Ayrum
Active development of railway transport was expected, but it did not begin in connection with the transition of the Armenian Railway to the management of the structural unit of the Russian Railroad – the South Caucasus Railway. In addition to improving the infrastructure and rolling stock, construction and reconstruction of new and old sections of the railway are also planned. For example, the President of Armenia and the President of Iran signed an unprecedented agreement on the construction of a railway between Armenia and Iranlength of almost 500 km and the cost of different data from 1 to 2 billion dollars. Also important is the resumption of traffic along the Akhuryan-Doğukapi section of the Gyumri – Kars railway, which connects Armenia and modern Turkey. Restoration work was carried out at Akhuryan station, but the border will not be opened in the near future. Another no less important project is the construction of a twenty-kilometer section of the railway from Vanadzor station to the station Fioletovo. This railway will reduce the distance between the capital and the largest industrial enterprises of Armenia and the Armenian-Georgian border, through which all exports from Armenia are carried by rail. Also this branch will create a railway ring of Armenia.

To date, rail transport in Armenia is a dynamically developing type of transport that competes with domestic transport domestically in Armenia and also dominates in interstate transport by air transport.

Narrow-gauge railway
Narrow-gauge railways of Armenia, unlike standard wide- gauge railways, are not designed for the carriage of passengers in suburban or long-distance communication. The first narrow-gauge railway in Armenia was opened in 1906 in Yerevan, it was the Erivan city horse-rail road. Then, during the First World War, military narrow-gauge railways were urgently built to transport soldiers, weapons, ammunition and provisions of the Russian Empire to the Russian-Turkish front. Subsequently, these railroads were on the territory of Turkey, some of them were crossed to a wide track, and the other was dismantled .

Modern narrow-gauge railways in Armenia can be divided into two types:

Children’s railways in large cities
Industrial railways in industrial enterprises
Road transport

The north-south route The new motorway will connect the Iranian and Georgian borders of Armenia and shorten the journey time by almost two and a half times.

The motorway, stretching from north to south, began to build four years ago. The road runs from the Armenian-Iranian border to the Armenian-Georgian border. The new route, which is 470 kilometers, will be almost 100 kilometers shorter than the existing one.

The length of the North-South route will be almost 500 km.

The route from the Armenian city of Meghri to the Georgian port of Poti is of strategic importance: it connects the north and south of the republic, opens the way to the Black Sea and provides communication between European and Asian countries. The greatest benefit it will bring to tourists and truckers. To road withstood a large flow of goods, it is repaired and expanded.

“This is a mountain winding road, where the maximum speed of movement is 60-70 kilometers per hour. And to pass this way for today it is possible for 10 hours. The new one is a direct route, with tunnels in mountain areas, where the average speed will be twice as fast. Accordingly, the way from one border to another can be overcome in just four hours, “said the executive director of the investment company Arthur Sargsyan.

During the construction of this road in Armenia for the first time decided to apply a concrete coating. Its advantage is durability. Experts assure: without major repairs the road will last at least a quarter of a century. Automobile roads are an important part of the transport system of the republic. In the presence of an underdeveloped railway network, due to the difficult mountainous terrain, Armenia’s motor roads are of decisive importance in the country’s socio-economic development. The role of the highways of Armenia is indispensable also in the matter of international transport.

Formed in Armenia, the public road network is 7637 km, 96.7% of which has a hard surface. For every 1000 km² of the territory of the republic there are 258 km of roads.

The Megriyskaya highway on the Yerevan – Ararat section is double: to the south bypassing the cities there is a fast ” highway “, and from the north – an old route parallel to it, along which the nearby buses go. Such a phenomenon as closed for the winter passes, in Armenia there.

The main routes of Armenia with the largest traffic are:

Yerevan – Ashtarak – Gyumri – Akhalkalak
Yerevan – Ararat – Kapan – Meghri
Yerevan – Ashtarak – Vanadzor – Tbilisi
Yerevan – Sevan.
Yerevan – Berdzor
Yerevan – Vardenis
Aviation transport

In the conditions of the blockade by Turkey and Azerbaijan, as well as the unstable situation on the Georgian-Russian border, air transport is actually the main type of international passenger transportation. At present, there are only two airports operating in Armenia – Zvartnots International Airport, Yerevan and Shirak Airport, Gyumri. For example, in September – December 2006, 67.6% of those leaving the country (including Zvartnots, 64.3%, Chirac – 3.3%), accounted for the share of air transport from the country and 60.5% of those entering the country (of them Zvartnots – 57.1%, Shirak – 3.4%). But Armenia does not stop there and conducts research for the planning and construction of the third airport.

Airport “Zvartnots”, Yerevan
The international airport “Zvartnots”, which is located 10 km to the west of Yerevan, is the main air gateway of the Republic of Armenia. From the airport, flights are made to 70 cities of the world. The airport was built in 1961 according to the plan of architects A. Tarkhanyan, S. Khachikyan, L. Cherkezyan, J. Shekhlyan and designer S. Baghdasaryan. From Yerevan regular buses and minibuses. By taxi from the airport you can get to anywhere in the Republic of Armenia, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and even Georgia. In 1998, a new cargo terminal was opened. In 2001, the airport was leased for 30 years to an Argentinean company”Aeropuertos Archentina 2000″. In 2004, construction of a new international terminal began. In the summer of 2007, a new terminal was opened.

Airport “Shirak”, Gyumri

Architects – Christophoryan L. Sh., Asratyan RG, Mushegyan GN, Designers – Tosunyan E. N., Tatevosyan V. G.

Airport “Shirak” is located 5 km from the second largest city in Armenia – Gyumri, which is also the administrative center of Shirak region. At present, the airport “Shirak” is the second and last airport in Armenia, which performs regular regular passenger air transportation. From Gyumri, regular flights can fly only to Moscow, Sochi and Rostov-on-Don. The airport is located in the northwestern part of modern Armenia and is more convenient than the Yerevan “Zvartnots” for the residents of northern Armenia, and also more convenient than the Tbilisi airport for the residents of Javakheti. Currently, the airport is operated by Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 and the airport is being modernized (in particular, the runway has been improved, lighting has been improved, and the main terminal has been improved). The company “Aeropuertos Argentina 2000” intends to invest $ 10 million this year to begin the modernization program and over the next few years will be invested more to ensure that the airport is fully in line with international standards.

Airport “Erebuni”, Yerevan

Erebuni Airport is the second airport in Yerevan, which is located within the capital, 7 km south of the city center. The airport does not provide regular passenger air services and the airport is more used for military needs, it is based on the Air Force of Armenia and the Russian Air Force, which jointly hold the guard duty on the southern borders of the CSTO member countries. Private passenger charter flights to the CIS countries are carried out from the airport, and there is also an irregular tourist helicopter service with the only airport in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic – Stepanakert airport.

Other airports and aerodromes
Other airports are not used for the carriage of passengers. There are airports in the city of Stepanavan (Lori province), in the towns of Gavar and Vardenis (Gegharkunik province), in the town of Jermuk in the province of Vayots Dzor, in the cities of Sisian, Goris, Agarak and Kapan in Syunik province, and in the town of Berd in Tavush province.

In 2012, the Armenian government announced the upcoming reconstruction and operation of the passenger airport in the resort town of Jermuk, which in no small measure should contribute to the development of tourism in the province of Vayots Dzor, rich in architectural and natural attractions. Successes are with the military airport in Arzni, which is used as a training base for the Armenian Air Force. In 2012, the government of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic commissioned the Stepanakert airport, which carries out regular helicopter transportations and soon passenger flights from Yerevan and Gyumri will begin.

During the Soviet era, airfields were available in almost all regional centers, and flights were regularly made both in the republic and in other republics of the USSR, including Russia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Also, aviation was based there for land reclamation.

Water transport
Due to the lack of access to the sea, navigable rivers and large water bodies, water transport is not in demand in Armenia. On Lake Sevan and on other water bodies there are amateur yachts, boats, boats and other boats. There is not a single ferry in Armenia. The plots on which the ferry would be in demand have long had bridges. If we talk about the absence of a ferry through Sevan, then this can be explained by the absence of passenger traffic. For example, if we talk about a ferry across the lake to the maximum length (from the city of Vardenis or Martuni to the city of Sevan), then it will take much more time than to reach by road through quality roads that pass along both shores of the lake. If we talk about the ferry across the lake in width, then it should be noted that on the north-east coast are only small villages, and on the opposite side there is only one city of Gavar, in connection with which there is a large passenger flow and therefore there is no ferry, because the inhabitants of the north It is easier to reach the eastern coast of the lake by motor transport to the cities of Vardenis, Chambarak, Sevan, or even by train, via the same city of Sevan to the larger cities of Hrazdan, Abovyan or directly to Yerevan.

Proceeding from the above, it follows that water transport in Armenia is not developed due to lack of its needs.

City transport

The Metropolitan
The Metropolitan in Armenia operates in the capital city of Yerevan. Metropolitan Metro was opened on March 7, 1981 and consists of one line with ten stations, as well as an additional single-track branch. The first active segment of the subway was the section “Friendship” (with the Armenian  version  - “Barekamutyun”) – “David Sasunsky” (from the Armenian  -  ”Sasuntsi David”). The length of the subway is 13.4 km. For a year the passenger traffic is 21 million passengers. Due to low passenger traffic, two-car trains from 81-717 / 714 wagons are used on the line. The remaining cars are idle at the depot ” Shengavit”. The fare is 100 drams. The metropolitan connects the north-western part of the city through the center with the southern part of the city. The metro in Yerevan is open from 6:30 to 23:30.

It is planned to build a perpendicular, second line of the Yerevan Metro in the direction of Davitashen. In other cities, the construction of the subway is not planned. It is also planned to build by 2015 a branch of the Yerevan metro from Charbakh station to Zvartnots international airport.

Trolleybus
In 1949 the first trolleybus route was opened in Yerevan. The first trolleybus park for him was opened in 1957. The trolleybus developed rapidly in Yerevan. With the construction of new residential areas, a trolleybus line was immediately laid there. By the end of 2006Only slightly more than 50 trolleybus vehicles remained in Yerevan. If in the Soviet times the maximum number of trolleybus lines reached 27, today there are only 7 left, the output for which can reach from one to 16 trolleybuses. There are two trolleybus depots. In the center of the city and along the bazaars, the contact network is re-located to the 2nd and 3rd rows, as various motor vehicles and route taxis accumulate along the roads along the roads, which do not give way to the trolleybus. In the years 2005-2006. Stop signs were installed in the center of Yerevan, made according to the European model. The fare is paid at the exit, and the fare is 50 drams. In 2005 and May 2006, a batch of Renault trolleybuses donated by the French authoritiesthe city of Lyon. And in September 2007 18 new trolleybuses of the brand ” LiAZ ” of 2007, bought from Volgograd, were bought.

The second city of Armenia, in which the trolley appeared was Gyumri. The trolleybus line was opened in 1962. In the 1990s, the city was surrounded by trolleybus routes. The lines ran through all the main streets of the city with branches to the airport, residential areas, the market, the railway station. 18 trolleybuses served 4 city routes. At the end of the 1990s, trolleybuses ceased to operate stably on routes, and people moved to fixed-route taxis. In 2005, the functioning of trolleybuses in Gyumri stopped. [eleven]

Tram
The only city in Armenia where the tram ever existed was Yerevan. On September 29, 1906 the Erivan city horse-railroad road of businessman Mirzoyan was opened. This type of narrow-gauge horse – drawn tram existed until August 1918, when the tram was destroyed due to the war.

Since 1932, a tram was launched on a wide electric track. The number of tram cars increased by 25% on average every five years, and if in 1933 it was 16, then in 1945 there were already 77 cars, and in 1965 – 222 units of rolling stock. Two types of trams were used – 71-605 and РВЗ-6М2. Due to the fact that the cost of the tram was 2.4 times higher than that of buses, as well as due to expensive electricity and problems that the tram was creating during the passage of the Kiev Bridge in Yerevan, on January 21, 2004The movement of trams in Yerevan was officially closed. Most of the ways are dismantled, the trams are cut for scrap, the tram depot is used by various private enterprises, and the substation serves trolleybuses .

Bus
Pipeline transportation
Oil pipelines
There are no main oil pipelines in Armenia. In 2008, in Teheran, during the meeting of RA Minister of Energy A. Movsisyan and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, a preliminary agreement was reached on the construction of the Tebriz – Meghri – Qajaran – Yeraskh oil pipeline from Iran to Armenia. At the same time, the cost of the pipeline was estimated at $ 240 million. The construction was scheduled for the fall of 2012. A pipeline with a diameter of 8 inches (203 mm) and a length of 365 km is expected to be commissioned in 2014. Under the signed agreement in February 2012, Iran plans to supply 1.5 million liters of gasoline and diesel fuel to Armenia per day. Previously, a joint construction of an oil refinery was planned, either near the Armenian-Iranian border (Meghri) or near Yerevan, but this project is currently not being implemented, as there is currently insufficient feasibility study for the project. This is due to two main factors:

First, Armenia does not have main oil pipelines. That is, there is no wide network of oil pipelines throughout the country, and for transit through Georgia.
Secondly, Armenia does not have its own oil. That is, there is no guaranteed uninterrupted supply of raw materials.

Gas pipelines
Iran-Armenia gas pipeline

Another transport
Cableway
Cable cars in Armenia are in Tsakhkadzor (tourist center in Kotayk Region) Jermuk (tourist center in Vayots Dzor region), Alaverdi (tourist center in Lori region), the longest was opened in October 2010, Tatev ropeway in the world to the Tatev monastery (tourist center in the Syunik marz). There are also commodity cable cars, for example, near the city of Kajaran (serves the mining industry in Syunik region).

In Yerevan
The cable car connected the Nork quarter with the city center. This interesting engineering structure allowed to reduce by more than 5 times, in comparison with the car, the time of the road. On the cable car there are two stations, one at the junction of Nalbandyan and Charents streets, the other on the Nork plateau. The distance between the stations is 540 meters with a height difference of 109 meters. The trolley passes this distance in 2.5 minutes. On the ropeway in Yerevan, on March 2, 2004, a car with 8 people collapsed from a great height. As a result of the tragedy, 3 people were killed, 5 – wounded. According to experts working at the scene of the accident, the version of the overload of the car, designed for 25 passengers, is excluded. In connection with the incident, the mobile mechanisms of the ropeway have been dismantled and have not been operated since.

In Tsakhkadzor
One of the tourist attractions of Tsakhkadzor is a 6 km long cable car along Mount Teghenis. The cableway in Tsakhkadzor was opened in 1969. The mountain-skiing complex in Tsakhkadzor is considered the best in the South Caucasus. The capacity is 1000 people per hour. Now there are five lines, at the opening of the latter there was the President of Armenia.

In Alaverdi
The cable car connects the city of Alaverdi, which is located in the lowland, on the left bank of the Debed River with the Sanahin and Haghpat monasteries, which are on a hill. Both monasteries are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The fare is 100 drams. Maximum capacity is 13 people. At the distance, two trains run, which are sent to each other to meet. The trains leave for filling, but the interval of movement is at least 7 minutes.

In Jermuk
In November 2007, the first stage of the cable car was opened in Jermuk. The lift is double-chair, with a total of 200 seats. The distance from almost any hotel to the cable car is about a kilometer .

President Serzh Sargsyan on November 7-8, 2008 the year with a two-day working visit to Jermuk, getting to know Implemented in large-scale works. The President visited the cable car site, inspected the zero station, got acquainted with the construction of a new ski slope and the improvement of the territory adjoining the cable car. For the last, 70 million drams have been spent, and about 200 million drams for the construction of a new ski slope. Serzh Sargsyan inspected a 3.7 km long thoroughfare road connecting the Dzhermuk quarter of Kechut with the left-sided part of the city. According to the Jermuk development program until 2012the annual number of tourists in the city is planned to increase to 100 thousand, and the profit of the tourist industry in the city – up to 100 million dollars.

In Tatev
Within the framework of the Tatev Revival project, the world’s longest pendulum-type passenger cable car, known as the Tatev Wings, was built by the Swiss firm Garaventa, which connects through the Vorotan Gorge with one intermediate station in the village of Alidzor and Tatev.