The Baku–Tbilisi sleeper is running again, from 81 manat
Azerbaijan Railways resumed daily passenger service between Baku and Tbilisi on 26 May 2026, using Stadler sleeper trains, after the old service was withdrawn in 2019. APA reported on 20 May that the minimum one-way comfort-class fare from Baku to Tbilisi is 81 manat, with cheaper fares from stations closer to the border. The train leaves Baku at 23:10 and reaches Tbilisi at 08:41; southbound it leaves Tbilisi at 21:00 and arrives at 06:24. An hour is set aside for border and customs checks on each side.
What the fare structure actually is
The figures published before launch were minimums for comfort class, not fixed prices. The lowest one-way fares listed ran from 81 manat for the full Baku to Tbilisi journey down to 57 from Agstafa and 51 for the short hop from Boyuk Kesik to Gardabani, with Ganja at 62 and Yevlakh at 67. What you actually pay varies with the Swiss franc exchange rate, each country's own tariff coefficient, whether you travel at a weekend or on a public holiday, and which berth you choose. Anyone quoting a single number to a client should quote the class and the date with it.
Nine and a half hours, two of them standing still
On paper the northbound run takes about nine and a half hours and the southbound just over nine and a quarter, but the timetable allocates a full hour on each side of the frontier for border and customs formalities. That is useful to know in two ways. It explains why an overnight train covers a distance a car can do faster, and it means roughly a fifth of the scheduled time is spent at a standstill with the lights on. Passengers who need to be functional for a morning meeting in Tbilisi should plan around the checks rather than the arrival time.
Why this matters to a tourism business here
Azerbaijan was Georgia's largest single source of visitor trips before the pandemic, and most arrivals from the region have always come overland rather than by air. A nightly sleeper restores a route that needs no flight booking, carries luggage without a baggage allowance and delivers passengers into central Tbilisi at breakfast time. For guesthouses and private-experience hosts, the practical consequence is a predictable early-morning arrival window six days a week to build a first-day itinerary around, and a return option that leaves after dinner. It is worth confirming the current timetable and fares with the operator before putting either into a printed programme, since both have moved since the May launch announcement.
Written by us from the source linked above, not investment, legal or tax advice. Figures and rules change — confirm anything that matters before acting on it.
