The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway was a long-contested project, blocked for years by Armenia's refusal to grant transit rights — a consequence of the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan and Turkey responded by routing the line through Georgia instead, adding considerable length and cost. Construction began in 2007 but was repeatedly delayed by financing shortfalls and difficult terrain in northeastern Turkey.
The line finally opened in 2017, two years after this coin was struck.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway was a long-contested project, blocked for years by Armenia's refusal to grant transit rights — a consequence of the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan and Turkey responded by routing the line through Georgia instead, adding considerable length and cost. Construction began in 2007 but was repeatedly delayed by financing shortfalls and difficult terrain in northeastern Turkey.
The line finally opened in 2017, two years after this coin was struck.