BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 22. Iran plans to inaugurate two key railway lines by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2026), said Farzaneh Sadegh, the country’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Trend reports.
Speaking to journalists following a Cabinet meeting in Tehran, Sadegh noted that one of the lines connects Ardabil and Miyaneh, a project that has been under construction for 20 years and is now 94 percent complete.
She added that the second line links Chabahar and Zahedan, and its operation will boost rail freight within the North-South International Transport Corridor.
Construction of the railway line connecting the Iranian cities of Ardabil and Miyaneh began in 2005. The 175-kilometer route is being built in 11 sections, with 35 percent of the line traversing mountainous terrain. Once operational, the railway is expected to transport around 2.5 million tons of cargo and 600,000 passengers in its first year, with capacity projected to reach 4 million tons of cargo and 1.5 million passengers annually within two decades.
Meanwhile, the Chabahar-Zahedan railway stretches approximately 634 kilometers, with construction starting in 2010. The project accelerated in 2014 following a change in the contractor company.
