1986 in three parts. The junction from the line Tbilisi–Yerevan is in Marabda. In April 2005, an agreement was signed to build a new railway connecting Turkey with Georgia and Azerbaijan, passing nearby Akhalkalaki. This would bypass an existing line through Gyumri in Armenia which has been closed by Turkey, blockading Armenia, for political reasons since the 1990s. The railway became operational on October 30, 2017. It is here where the break-of-gauge is. In compound with the military base was constructed an airport. With military dismantling it was closed. Bases The city was home to the Soviet-era 147th Motor Rifle Division (part of the 9th Army of the Transcaucasian Military District) up until the early 1990s. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Division became the Russian 62nd Military Base. It was officially transferred, according to the Sochi agreement, to Georgia on June 27, 2007. On September 19, 2020, a new basic combat training center was opened on the site of the former base in Akhalkalaki. The center is designed to accommodate and train up to 800 military personnel and conscripts. Notable people Derenik Demirchian, Armenian writer Jivani, Armenian bard Harutyun Khachatryan, Armenian film director Ruben Ter-Minasian, Defense Minister of the First Republic of Armenia Hamo Ohanjanyan, the third Prime Minister of the First Republic of Armenia Aik Mnatsakanian, Armenian wrestler representing Bulgaria Hakob Hakobyan, professional football player Arman Tsarukyan, Armenian mixed martial artist See also Samtskhe–Javakheti References External links Cities and towns in Samtskhe–Javakheti Tiflis Governorate Armenian diaspora communities