TRIPP Construction in Armenia Slated for Late 2026 as Engineering Surveys Begin

One year after the Washington summit that produced the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, the corridor is moving from declaration to dirt. Engineering surveys for the railway across Armenia are underway, and construction is expected to begin in late 2026 or early 2027, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said, per Interfax.

Two sides of the border, two speeds

On the Azerbaijani side, work is well advanced: the road and railway infrastructure that will connect with Armenia is nearing completion in mainland Azerbaijan, and construction has begun in the Nakhchivan exclave, where Baku has committed $152 million to TRIPP-linked rail works. Armenia, by contrast, is still in the survey phase along the planned 42-kilometre route through the southern Syunik region, which follows the alignment of a derelict Soviet-era line, according to Eurasianet.

Yerevan has agreed a development plan for the corridor with the United States and is establishing a dedicated project company to manage construction, as reported by Railway Gazette.

Anniversary signals

Both governments marked the first anniversary of the August 2025 joint declaration with a coordinated statement, and the US State Department issued its own, underscoring continued American sponsorship. The peace treaty itself remains unsigned — a reminder that the corridor is running ahead of the diplomacy it was meant to cement.

The stakes

TRIPP is a multimodal project: rail, road, energy and digital links across a border closed for three decades. If construction starts on schedule, the first through-connection between Azerbaijan proper, Nakhchivan and onward Turkish networks via Armenian territory could carry commercial traffic before the end of the decade. For Armenia, the calculus is transit revenue and sanctions-proof connectivity; for Azerbaijan, a direct land bridge to Turkey. For both, the project has become the load-bearing structure of the normalization process itself.

Further Reading

• A Year After Washington, the Peace Deal Is Still Unsigned — But the Corridor Company Is Already Structured
• Azerbaijan Commits $152 Million to Nakhchivan as TRIPP-Linked Railway Advances