BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 22. Iran wants to accelerate the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway, the country's Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Farzaneh Sadegh, said in a phone conversation with Russian Minister of Transport Andrey Nikitin, Trend reports.
According to her, the agreement on the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway line in Gilan Province, located in northern Iran, needs to be prepared and signed soon.
Sadegh suggested completing the remaining issues on the agreement details as soon as possible.
She noted that Rasht-Astara is the only missing part of the North-South International Transport Corridor. Iran and Russia can complete the construction of this railway line through cooperation.
The Iranian minister, highlighting the proposed initial text of the Iran-Russia transport roadmap for 2026-2027, pointed out that this roadmap is expected to be fully studied and finalized in the coming month and signed by both countries.
During the conversation, Nikitin also agreed with all the proposals of the Iranian minister and noted the importance of increasing the volume of transport and cargo transportation between the two countries.
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, 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.
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 the 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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