The expected commissioning of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line will further increase the importance of Azerbaijan Railways and Georgian Railway in freight transportation within the region and will enhance their business profiles, according to Fitch Ratings report.
According to the rating company, the slowing economies and FX volatility may put pressure on the financial profile of rail transport companies in the former Soviet Union countries.
Freight rail transportation volumes continued to decline in most of these countries and Fitch Ratings expects rail volumes to remain weak in 2H15 on the back of lower GDP growth across the region. Former Soviet Union rail transport companies that are reliant on crude oil transportation are also under competitive pressure as crude oil traffic continues to switch to pipelines from rail.
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