BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 4. Accelerating operational work within the North-South and East-West international transport corridors is of great importance for Iran, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on January 4 at a meeting in Tehran dedicated to international transport corridors and the development of a railway line in Tehran Province, Trend reports.
According to him, Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Farzana Sadeq, is actively working to attract domestic and foreign loans and channel these funds into the construction of the North-South and East-West international transport corridors, the development of railway infrastructure in Tehran Province, and the completion of ongoing railway projects.
The president noted that the current Iranian government, which has been in power since August 2024, is working to remove a number of taboos and restrictions in the construction sector. He stressed that the main objective is to eliminate existing barriers in order to simplify and accelerate the implementation of infrastructure projects.
Pezeshkian recalled that the foundation of the North-South International Transport Corridor was laid by an intergovernmental agreement signed by Russia, Iran, and India on September 12, 2000. The agreement was later ratified by Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Ukraine. The corridor is aimed at reducing cargo delivery times from India to Russia, as well as to Northern and Western Europe, from more than six weeks to about three weeks.
As part of the corridor, the 175-kilometer Qazvin–Rasht railway was commissioned on March 6, 2019, linking Azerbaijan’s railways with the Iranian railway network. The Rasht–Astara railway project is planned for implementation in Iran.
Within Iran, the North-South corridor includes three routes: the eastern route through Turkmenistan and Central Asian countries, the central route via the Caspian Sea to Russia and other states, and the western route through Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, and Eastern European countries.
In addition, on May 17, 2023, Russia and Iran signed an agreement to construct the Rasht–Astara railway in Iran’s northern Gilan Province. The approximately 163-kilometer line will include nine stations. Once completed, the project is expected to significantly strengthen the North-South International Transport Corridor and connect Iran’s railway network with the Caucasus, Russia, and Northern Europe. Under the agreement, Russia plans to invest 1.6 billion euros in the project, with completion scheduled within 48 months.