According to the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat), in the second quarter of 2026, freight traffic carried by Georgian railway increased by 19.9% compared to the same period last year, totaling 3.9 million tonnes.
Geostat reported that domestic traffic accounted for 6.7% of this volume, international shipments (excluding transit) made up 33.5%, and transit accounted for 59.8%.
“In the second quarter of 2026, under the international transport mode, imports accounted for 75.3% of the total rail freight volume, while exports accounted for 24.7%.
In Q2 2026, the Russian Federation was the country of origin for 38.0% of total rail imports, followed by Azerbaijan with 22.7%, while the share of each of the remaining sending countries was below 10% (39.3% in aggregate). In Q2 2026, Armenia was the destination country for 17.4% of total rail exports, the Russian Federation accounted for 10.1%, and Kazakhstan for 7.1%, with the remaining destination countries each holding comparatively smaller shares (totaling 65.4%).
In Q2 2026, the breakdown of total transit cargo by destination country was as follows: Turkey — 8.2%, the Netherlands — 8.1%, China — 5.5%, Romania — 2.0%, Italy — 1.8%, Ukraine — 1.2%, with the remainder destined for other countries. During the same period, Brazil was the country of origin for 6.6% of transit freight, Turkey accounted for 2.5%, and the rest was distributed among other countries.
During the reporting period, coke and refined petroleum products accounted for 32.7% of total rail freight; chemicals, chemical products, artificial fibers, rubber, and plastic products made up 22.2%; and food products, beverages, and tobacco products accounted for 13.7%. In the second quarter of 2026, the breakdown by commodity group for domestic transportation differed: metal ores and other mining and quarrying products made up 54.5%, coke and refined petroleum products accounted for 16.6%, and the transport equipment commodity group accounted for 16.0%,” the publication stated.
Regarding international shipments, Geostat reported that the main rail imports during the reporting period were: coke and refined petroleum products (38.6%), other non-metallic mineral products (13.2%), metal ores and other mining and quarrying products (12.5%), coal and lignite; crude petroleum and natural gas (12.4%), basic metals (7.9%), food products, beverages, and tobacco (6.8%), chemicals, chemical products, and artificial fibers (2.6%), wood and products of wood and cork (2.1%), agriculture, hunting, and forestry products (1.9%), and machinery and equipment (1.1%); while the main exports included: chemicals, chemical products, and artificial fibers (34.7%), food products, beverages, and tobacco products (27.3%), basic metals (11.3%), and metal ores and other mining and quarrying products (10.8%).
“In the second quarter of 2026, 83.6% of the total transit cargo volume was concentrated in three commodity groups: coke and refined petroleum products (36.2%), chemicals, chemical products, and artificial fibers (31.1%), and food products, beverages, and tobacco products (16.3%).
In Q2 2026, Georgian Railway transported 425.8 thousand passengers, down 0.5% compared to the same period last year. Passenger turnover over the same period reached 91.7 million passenger-kilometers, a 2.3% decrease year-on-year. In Q2 2026, domestic passenger traffic stood at 408.4 thousand passengers, representing 95.9% of the total passenger volume and a 3.4% decline compared to the corresponding period of 2025. Meanwhile, international services carried 17.4 thousand passengers, approximately 3.5 times higher than the figure for the same period last year. Among international passengers, 33.4% arrived from Azerbaijan and 21.4% from Armenia, while 33.7% departed for Azerbaijan and 11.5% for Armenia,” the report stated.
