BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 26. The document signed today aims to increase freight traffic on the western route of the North-South international transport corridor to 2 million tons per year, the Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development of Iran and Executive Director of Iran Railways, Jabbar Ali Zakeri, said in an exclusive interview with Trend.
He made the announcement on the sidelines of the 83rd meeting of the CIS Railway Transport Council held in Baku.
According to him, due to the fact that the Rasht-Astara railway within the North-South corridor is currently not in operation, freight transportation will be carried out using train-car-train combinations.
Zakeri added that in the long term, there are plans to increase freight traffic to 15 million tons.
The intergovernmental agreement signed on September 12, 2000, between Russia, Iran, and India laid the foundational framework for the North-South Transport Corridor. Since then, several countries have ratified the agreement, including Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Russia, Tajikistan, Türkiye, and Ukraine. The primary objective of the corridor is to significantly reduce the delivery time for cargo traveling from India to Russia, as well as to Northern and Western Europe. While the existing route takes over six weeks, the North-South Corridor is expected to shorten this to just three weeks.
On March 6, 2019, the 175 km Gazvin-Rasht railway began operations, connecting Azerbaijan’s rail network with Iran’s infrastructure within the corridor. Additionally, the Rasht-Astara railway is set to be constructed on Iranian soil.
The North-South Corridor within Iran comprises three main routes. The eastern route connects to Turkmenistan and Central Asian countries; the central route links to Russia and other nations across the Caspian Sea; and the western route connects to Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, and Eastern Europe.
On May 17, 2023, Russia and Iran signed an agreement to build the Rasht-Astara railway in Gilan province in northern Iran. This 163 km railway will feature nine stations and is expected to enhance the North-South Corridor’s efficiency. Upon completion, it will integrate Iran's railway network with those of the Caucasus, Russia, and Northern Europe. Under the terms of the agreement, Russia is committed to investing 1.6 billion euros in the construction of the railway, which is slated to be completed within 48 months.