Caucasus railways CEO Shevket Shaidulin travels to Shirak province.

YEREVAN, December 2, /ARKA/. South Caucasus Railways CEO Shevket Shaidulin traveled today to the northwestern province of Shirak for talks with mayor of Gyumri (administrative center of the province) Vartan Ghukasian and provincial governor Lida Nanian.

The press service of the company said during the talks the sides discussed social nature issues and safe operation of the railways, including illegal level crossings which pose serious threat to people’s lives. Shevket Shaydulin drew the local authorities’ attention to the fact that many families still reside in dwellings and structures owned by the South Caucasus railways company. He said the concessional agreement with the Armenian government does not stipulate it. The press service said in a press release that the sides agreed to settle this problem step by step.

Shevket Shaidulin and governor Lida Nanian traveled also to Akhurian railway station on the border with Turkey. The governor said she was pleased with the quality and speed of repair work on that section of the railway.

In 2007 the Armenian government called tenders for a 30-year concession to modernize and operate Armenian Railways. The Russian Railways was the only bidder and has set up South Caucasian Railway as a subsidiary to run the Armenian Railway. The concession agreement was concluded for 30 years, with a right of extension for another 20 years after the first 20 years of operation.  -0-