Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 11
By Emil Ilgar – Trend:
The European Union will send the first cargo through the North-South Transport Corridor by Nov. 20, Managing Director of Iranian Railways Mohsen Pour Seyed Aghaei told ISNA Nov. 11.
The transportation will be carried out by means of combined transit, that is, the cargo will be taken by ships to Russia’s Black Sea ports, then through railway to Iran-Azerbaijan border and from there via road to Iran’s Rasht city, he said, adding that from Rasht the cargo will go via railway to Bandar Abbas Port in Persian Gulf.
Touching upon the transit of cargos from India to Russia via the same route, Pour Seyed Aghaei said it is expected that Astara (Azerbaijan)-Astara (Iran) train will become operational soon (in March 2017).
For now, the cargoes are being transported by means of combined transportation, but after construction of Rasht-Astara railway in Iran, the cargoes would be carried directly from Bandar Abbas to Russia and Europe.
Rasht-Astara railway needs about $1 billion investment.
The North-South corridor, from India to Finland, with a length of 5,000 km is designed to carry more than 20 million tons per year in final stage.