BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 11. Iran is working to shift freight transit from highways to railways within the country as part of the North-South International Transport Corridor, the country’s Deputy Minister for Roads and Urban Development of Iran, Executive Director of the Iranian Railways Company, Jabbar Ali Zakeri, told reporters, Trend reports.
According to Zakeri, this shift is expected to improve safety on the highways as well.
Zakeri highlighted that one of the key ports in the southern Hormozgan Province, the Shahid Rajaee port, is already equipped with railway lines, enabling the transportation of goods via rail for imports, exports, and transit.
The Deputy Minister also mentioned that there are plans to increase the use of railways for loading and unloading goods at the country's ports. Furthermore, there are plans to transport about a quarter (25 percent) of the imported goods by rail.
"By the next Iranian year (from March 21, 2025, through March 20, 2026), it is projected that the number of daily freight wagons will increase from 100 to 200. This is expected to be highly effective in boosting transit across the country," Zakeri noted.
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. (Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Bulgaria, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kyrgyzstan, Sultanate of Oman, Russian Federation, Republic of Tajikistan, Republic of 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.
Follow the author on X: @BaghishovElnur