BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 5. The completion of railway construction on Iranian territory within the North-South and East-West International Transport Corridors holds great significance, Deputy Head of the Iranian Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructure Company Abbas Khatibi told local media, Trend reports.
He noted that currently, work is ongoing on six railway corridors under the North-South International Transport Corridor and three railway corridors under the East-West International Transport Corridor within Iran. The total length of these railway lines is approximately 3,000 kilometers.
Khatibi highlighted that the Rasht-Astara and Chabahar-Zahedan railway lines are among the most important projects within the North-South corridor.
“The Chabahar-Zahedan railway is 634 kilometers long. The first 154-kilometer section was commissioned in 2022, and 82 percent of the construction has been completed on the remaining 477-kilometer section. Efforts are undertaken to commission this railway line by early next year at the latest,” he added.
The intergovernmental agreement signed between Russia, Iran, and India on September 12, 2000, laid the foundation for the North-South Transport Corridor. In general, several countries have ratified the said agreement (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Russia, Tajikistan, Türkiye, and Ukraine). The purpose of establishing the corridor is to reduce the delivery time of cargo traveling from India to Russia, as well as to Northern and Western Europe (the delivery time along the existing route is more than six weeks; it is expected to be three weeks via North-South).
The Gazvin-Rasht railroad, stretching 175 km, hit the ground running on March 6, 2019, linking Azerbaijan's railroads with Iran's railway network in the corridor. The Rasht-Astara railroad is set to take shape on Iranian soil.
The North-South Corridor has three directions within Iran. The eastern direction is Turkmenistan and Central Asian countries, the middle direction is Russia and other countries across the Caspian Sea, and the western direction is Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, and Eastern European countries.
To note, Russia and Iran signed an agreement on May 17, 2023, to build the Rasht-Astara railroad in Gilan Province in northern Iran. Nine stations will be built on the Rasht-Astara railroad line, which is about 163 kilometers long. With the completion of this railroad, the North-South international corridor will be improved, and Iran's railroad network will be integrated with Caucasus countries, Russia, and Northern European countries. According to the agreement, the Russian side is expected to spend 1.6 billion euros for the construction of this railroad. This railroad will be built and completed within 48 months.
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