(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 17. The construction
of the Rasht-Astara railway line in Gilan Province, located in the
north of Iran will begin within the next 1.5 months, Iran's Deputy
Minister of Roads and Urban Development Shahiar Afandizadeh, said,
Trend reports.
“The mentioned railway line will be built within the framework
of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). With
the completion of the Rasht-Astara railway, Iran will be directly
connected to Azerbaijan's railway line. In addition, Iran will get
link to Russia through Azerbaijan and from Russia to Northern
Europe by railway line. Thus, there will be a railway line from
Northern Europe to the port of Bandar Abbas located in the south of
Iran. This is the main route in the INSTC,” Afandizadeh said.
The deputy minister added that the work on the construction
project of the Rasht-Astara railway between Iran and Russia are
already being completed. After the project is prepared, a loan will
be received from Russia for the construction of the railway and the
construction of the railway will be started according to the
agreement between the two countries.
Afandizadeh also stated that approximately 30-40 percent of the
Rasht-Astara railway line will consist of bridges.
On May 17, 2023, Russia and Iran signed an agreement to build
the Rasht-Astara railway in Gilan province. The railway will be 163
km long and will have 9 stations. This project will improve the
North-South International Corridor and link Iran's railway network
to the Caucasus countries, Russia and Northern Europe.
The Russian side is expected to invest 1.6 billion euros in this
project, which is planned to be finished in 48 months.
The foundation of the 'International North-South Transport
Corridor' was laid on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement
signed between Russia, Iran, and India on September 12, 2000. In
total, 13 countries have ratified the agreement, including
Azerbaijan, India, Iran, Russia, Türkiye, etc.
The purpose of creating a corridor is to reduce the delivery
time of cargo from India to Russia, as well as to North and West
Europe. Delivery time on the current route is more than 6 weeks, it
is expected to be reduced to 3 weeks via North-South Transport
Corridor.
Iran's 175 km-long Qazvin-Rasht railway was officially put into
operation on March 6, 2019, to connect Azerbaijani railways with
the Iranian railway network within the corridor. In addition, the
167-kilometer-long Rasht-Astara railway line will be built in
Iran.
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