BAKU RAIL HUB
On May 26, 2026 the Baku–Tbilisi night train returned after six years — daily Stadler sleepers, 81 manat, 12 hours — while the metro carries ~700,000 a day and builds its two-storey 28th station for the end of 2026.
The international rail story of 2026 is the comeback of the Baku–Tbilisi night train: suspended since March 2020, it resumed on May 26, 2026 — daily from Baku at 23:10, arriving 08:41, with new Swiss-built Stadler sleepers (comfort, comfort+ and luxury classes, a dining car) replacing Soviet-era stock; fare from 81 manat. The catch is the border: Azerbaijan’s land crossings stay closed to most foreign nationals, so the train is a special exemption for citizens and visa-free travellers. Behind it, the Baku–Tbilisi–Kars corridor was formally commissioned at full capacity in June 2026 — one million passengers and five million tonnes a year on paper — but the passenger leg beyond Tbilisi to Kars has no date yet.
Baku Metro — the Caucasus’ first, opened 1967 — runs three lines and 27 stations carrying roughly 700,000 passengers a day at 0.40 manat a ride; 28 May, Nizami and Icherisheher are the visitor’s triangle. Construction is past 80% on station B-4, a two-storey design that will become the 28th station and the Purple Line’s fifth by the end of 2026; the 2040 plan targets 70+ stations including a link to the airport. The railway station complex at 28 May also anchors suburban electrics up the Absheron peninsula to Sumgait — the Soviet oil-worker line that started it all.
THE TIO READ
The sleeper is the region’s best-value border crossing — a bed beats a border queue, and 81 manat buys transport and a night in one. But check eligibility before planning: if your passport needs an e-visa, the train exemption does not apply, and the flight from Tbilisi is 45 minutes.
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