Georgian Railway has announced an electronic tender to purchase 120 new freight railway wagons, funded entirely by savings generated through an ongoing company-wide optimization effort. The value of the tender is set at 20 million GEL, according to the company’s Director General, Lasha Abashidze.
Abashidze said the tender represents the first tangible outcome of the optimization reforms and marks the beginning of a broader plan to modernize the country’s rolling stock. Much of Georgian Railway’ current wagon and locomotive fleet, he noted, is outdated both technically and physically, making renewal essential.
“The tender announced for the purchase of new freight semi-trailers is the first result of the optimization carried out in the company. Georgian Railway plans to purchase the wagons with the saved funds. A large part of the existing fleet requires renewal or modernization, and we will be working actively in this direction,” Abashidze stated. “This initiative aims to enhance Georgia’s transport and logistics capacity, increase throughput, and improve overall railway efficiency.”
According to the company, demand for railway wagons is high, making the addition of new units critically important. Each wagon will have a carrying capacity of 69 tons, helping to ease pressure on the current fleet.
Despite moving forward with fleet renewal, Georgian Railway is facing financial pressures. In the first nine months of 2025, the company’s revenue from freight, logistics, and passenger services totaled 454 million GEL, marking a 6% decline (28 million GEL) compared to the same period last year.
However, profitability improved. Georgian Railway reported 91 million GEL in profit, an annual increase of 15 million GEL. The rise, however, did not stem from core operations. Instead, it was largely driven by 46.4 million GEL in foreign exchange gains, reflecting the strengthening of the GEL against the US dollar, in which the company’s debts are denominated. Without these exchange-rate effects, the company’s profit would have been reduced by nearly half.
