(MENAFN- AzerNews)
Qabil Ashirov read more Finally, Russia and Iran agreed to complete the construction of
the Astara–Rasht–Qazvin railway line, which is part of the
International North-South transport corridor. However, the
construction of the railway line, more precisely the Rasht-Astara
section, could not be completed due to some technical issues in
Iran. Later it was reported that the problem resolved and in two
years the construction is expected to be completed.
The Astara–Rasht–Qazvin railway is a transport corridor that
connects existing railways of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Iran. The
purpose of the project is to integrate the transport and
information routes of Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, and India. With the
help of this transport corridor, transport costs and duration are
reduced.
In a comment on the issue, the expert in transport and logistics
Rauf Aghamirzayev said that the launch of the Rasht-Astara railway
line will increase the importance of Azerbaijan and the general
South Caucasus transport network in the region.
“As for its benefits for Azerbaijan, it will ensure the
country's access to the Persian Gulf and ports on the coast of the
Indian Ocean. What is more interesting is that such a route has
existed before. In 1903, the Alexandropol-Iravan-Ulukhanli-Julfa
railway was later connected with the Julfa-Tabriz railway,
providing access to the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf. However,
the Karabakh War in the 1990s and the occupation of Azerbaijani
lands for 30 years led to the closure of this traditional route.
Notwithstanding, the restoration of that road is underway in the
direction of the Zangazur corridor. After the disruption of
communications between Azerbaijan and Armenia following the
Garabagh war, the Rasht-Astara railway line, which is an element of
the North-South international transport corridor, has become
relevant for the last 20 years. The opening of these transport
corridors will have a positive effect on the general traffic
passing through Azerbaijan,” Aghamirzayev said.
Especially recently, Armenians started claiming that Russia and
Iran would prefer Armenia to Azerbaijan with respect to the tense
political relations between Iran and Azerbaijan. However, the
expert noted that Armenians confuse the South-West Corridor with
North-South Corridor. He commented that Iran is interested in the
South-West Corridor, but even in this case, Armenia cannot be an
alternative to Azerbaijan.
“Iran's interest here is to provide access to the Black Sea from
south, that is, from the Persian Gulf. This also looks interesting
from Armenia. But this is rhetoric. What do we have in the field,
or what do we have in the region? There is a road and a railway.
But which country can carry more cargo? Is it more securer in terms
of risks? If we take these into account, we will see that
Azerbaijan is the one that meets all these requirements. The
country has invested enough in the transport infrastructure in the
last 16 years. The existing transport network is diversified. In
other words, it can offer not one, but several directions. The
transport infrastructure currently being built in Garabagh and
eastern Zangazur will further expand these opportunities. But what
is there in Armenia? Armenia's existing North-South highway, which
began to be constructed in 2009, is only 5 percent completed.
Armenia has opened a total of 31 km in 14 years, and at the end of
last year, an additional 18 km was opened, out of a total of 556
km,” he said.
He noted that transportation by train is easier and cheaper than
cargo. However, the railway almost does not exist in Armenia due to
its invading foreign policy.
“Transportation by road is more expensive than by rail. In terms
of mobility and accessibility, straight highways are more
convenient. However, in terms of efficiency, cost-effectiveness,
and volume of cargo transportation, railways have no competitors in
land transportation. Armenia's railways are a dead end.
That is, due to the Karabakh issue, the borders with both
Azerbaijan and Turkiye are closed, which could provide more
traffic. The road from the south must pass through the Nakhchivan
region, an exclave of Azerbaijan, which is closed due to the war.
The only open part goes to Georgia, and it is open for traffic due
to Armenia's own needs. Armenia does not have such an opportunity
for the passage of international goods. It is also not effective if
we consider the car and partly railway multimodal freight
transport. From this point of view, peace should be ensured in the
region, and if peace is ensured, communications with Azerbaijan
will soon be opened. And if there are not one but several railway
exits, transportation of these cargoes in different directions can
be organized,” the expert concluded.
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