According to the decree "On Establishing the Professional Holiday of Railway Workers" signed by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev on October 7, 2005, October 13 is celebrated annually as Railway Workers' Professional Holiday in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan’s steel trunk has undergone a remarkable journey of development. The Azerbaijan Railway, which had long been a segment of the Transcaucasus Railway and operated as the Baku section, became an independent function under the Ministry of Railways of the USSR on October 13, 1955. The Railway Workers' Professional Holiday was established based on this date.

The history of railways in Azerbaijan is closely linked to the history of its oil industry. At that time, oil from the oil refining regions of Absheron was transported to the oil refineries in Baku and the central areas of Russia via the Caspian Sea using caravan methods, in wooden barrels and wineskins. Although the Russian Empire began the construction of its first railways in the 1830s, it delayed this process in Azerbaijan. By the second half of the 19th century, the old transportation methods were no longer sufficient to meet the growing demand. Despite numerous requests and letters regarding a railway in Azerbaijan, the proposed railway projects were not implemented.  Finally, in 1865, this construction was entrusted to the Russian Ministry of the Means of Communication. The design of the project was assigned to the English architect Gobb. His proposed layout for the Baku-Yevlakh-Ganja-Aghstafa-Tiflis route was deemed sufficiently cost-effective, leading to its approval in 1865. However, the expenses incurred for the road's construction did not justify the investment. To make the production center closer to Baku instead of Tiflis, in 1878, the construction of a railway in the Absheron oil fields was contracted to the "Poti-Tiflis" railroad society. Thus, the privatization process for the Balakhani and Surakhani lanes was carried out. The City Administration delegated the evaluation of these lands to a public commission led by Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev. Construction of the 20-kilometer-long Baku-Sabunchu-Surakhani railway, initially intended solely for oil transportation, began at the end of 1878. Azerbaijan's first railway line, Baku-Sabunchu-Surakhani, was inaugurated in 1880. Shortly, the line’s profitability led to its use for passenger transportation along the same route.

Three years later, the Baku-Yelizavetpol (Ganja)-Tbilisi main railway was put into operation. The first oil shipment by rail to Tiflis departed from Rail Yard, Baku, Azerbaijan's first freight station, on May 8, 1883. Farrukh Bey Vezirov, originally from Shusha, played an invaluable role in the railway's design and particularly in the committee for transporting oil by rail. He was Azerbaijan's first professional mining engineer.

Following Azerbaijan's independence in 1918, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic established the Azerbaijan Railway Administration and the Security Administration under the Ministry of Roads. The rail infrastructure suffered significant damage after the liberation of Baku on September 15, 1918, with the Alat-Julfa line destroyed and the routes between Ganja and Baku heavily impacted. Nevertheless, through the efforts of the Ministry of Roads, train services between Baku and Tiflis and Baku and Port-Petrovsk (Makhachkala), resumed by the end of 1919. Additionally, seven depots and 26 destroyed railway bridges were repaired. Recognizing the critical role of military strategic railways, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic established the Military Railway Men’s School and equipped the Azerbaijan Army with three armored trains.

Azerbaijan Railways played an exceptional role during World War II. From 1941 to 1945 the railway system transported over 600,000 tankers filled with oil and oil products, and 700,000 wagons of freight to the front lines. Additionally, Azerbaijan Railways played a vital role in delivering refugees to remote areas of the country and in transporting troops to the front.

The Great Leader Heydar Aliyev, who first assumed leadership of the Republic in 1969, initiated significant changes and transformative development in railway transportation. The railway was equipped with modern foreign technical machinery and equipment. The electrified railways in the Absheron region were commissioned to support the upliftment of suburban areas and serve passengers. The Bilgah-Pirshaghi-Sumgayit line was constructed in 1970, followed by the Jorat-Sumgayit-Zabrat-II-Pirshaghi line in 1973. In 1979, the Aghdam-Khankendi railway was built. The Baku-Yevlax-Khankendi railway was put into service to strengthen the connections between Karabakh and Baku.  In the 1980s, 80% of cargo and 50% of passengers were transported by railways.

In the early 1990s, a significant portion of Azerbaijan's railways fell under occupation due to Armenian aggression. Over 240 kilometers of railway lines were seized, and the work of the Julfa-Minjivan-Horadiz and Yevlakh-Khankendi railways was halted.

The transportation infrastructure, founded by the Great Leader Heydar Aliyev, is being successfully developed by President Ilham Aliyev. On July 6, 2010, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree approving the "State Program for the Development of the Railway Transportation System in the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2010-2014." This decree has played a crucial role in the development of natural resources, the rapid growth of new economic regions and the national economy, the rise of the material well-being of the population, and the strengthening of friendly, cultural, and economic ties between countries.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line which began to be built in 2007 was put into operation in 2017. More than 500 kilometers of the 850-kilometer-long railway pass through the territory of Azerbaijan. Since this railway line serves stability and safety, it is also intended to provide passenger transport services in the near future. The Absheron Circular Line became fully operational with the launch of the Baku-Sabunchu and Sabunchu-Pirshaghi lines in 2019, followed by the opening of the Pirshaghi-Goradil-Novkhani-Sumgayit sections on March 18, 2020. The Absheron Circular Line is one of the most important transportation projects in Baku and the Absheron Peninsula.

Nearly 200 railwaymen bravely fought in the 44-day Patriotic War, of them 4 became shahids (martyrs). The contributions of our steel trunk workers play a vital role in enhancing the railway transport system, which is crucial for the socio-economic landscape of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Their efforts are essential in fulfilling the population's and the economy's demand for railway services, ensuring the safety of transit and local transportation. Our state highly values their dedicated service.

Recommended literature:

1. Məmmədov, Çingiz. Azərbaycan dəmir yolu tarixinin Heydər Əliyev dövrü /Ç.Məmmədov; Red. N.Əzməmmədov; Foto. Z. Zakiroğlu. - Bakı: 2007. - 327 s.
2. Azərbaycan dəmir yolu: Tarixə nəzər /"Azərb. Dəmir Yolları" Qapalı Səhmdar Cəmiyyəti ; [layihənin rəh. C. Qurbanov [ön söz] ; layihənin təşəbbüskarları və ideya müəl.: V. Aslanov, A. Hüseynova, Ə. Məlikova, N. Abbasova ; mətnin müəl. və tərtibatçısı S. Əhmədov ; elmi red. N. Vəlixanlı ; tərc.: İ. Peart, S. İbrahimova ; foto E. Musayev ; dizayner N. Novruzov]. - Bakı: [n. y.], 2020. - 235 s.
3. Qurbanov, Cavid Qənbər oğlu. Azərbaycan yol tarixi yaradıcıları ensiklopediyası: 2 cilddə /C. Qurbanov, H. İsgəndər; texn. və elmi red. S. K. Əliyev; rəyçilər. S. K. Əliyev [və b.]. I cild Azərbaycan yol tarixi idarəetmə quruluşu yaradıcıları bu gün. Yol tarixi idarəetmə quruluşu (I fəsil). - Bakı: Kraton M, 2009. - 440 s.
4. Azerbaijan railways: a historical overview /initiators of concept and project V. Aslanov, A. Huseynova; project director J. Qurbanov; compiler S. Ahmadov; academic editor N. Valikhanli; adviser N. Bayramova; trans. I. Peart, S. Ibrahimova; designer N. Novruzov; Azərbaycan Dəmir Yolları Qapalı Səhmdar Cəmiyyəti. - Bakı: Şərq-Qərb, 2020. - 235 p.