(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 14.​ A 34-kilometer section of the Rasht-Astara railway line in northern Iran, which is part of the North-South International Transport Corridor, has been handed over to the Russian side for research purposes, Deputy Executive Director of the Iranian Transport Infrastructure Construction and Development Company Abbas Khatibi told local media in Astara, Iran, today, Trend reports.

He asserts that Iran is poised to transfer additional territories to the Russian contingent for exploratory purposes, with requisite deliberations currently in progress.

The corporate representative indicated that the Russian contingent is presently engaged in exploratory analysis and geospatial mapping activities as part of the railway initiative.

Khatibi indicated that the acquisition of 83 kilometers of the 160-kilometer railway corridor has been finalized.

Meanwhile, an 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, and Ukraine). The objective of establishing the corridor is to optimize the logistics timeline for the transit of goods originating from India to Russia, in addition to Northern and Western Europe. Currently, the lead time on the existing route exceeds six weeks; however, it is projected to be streamlined to three weeks through the“North-South” corridor.

The Qazvin-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 to be built on Iranian territory.

The North-South Corridor encompasses three distinct vectors within the Iranian geopolitical landscape. The eastern vector encompasses Turkmenistan and the Central Asian republics; the central axis aligns with Russia and adjacent nations across the Caspian Sea, while the western trajectory includes Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, and various Eastern European states.

On May 17, 2023, an agreement was signed between Russia and Iran on the construction of 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. Per the stipulations outlined in the contractual framework, the Russian entity is projected to allocate a financial outlay of 1.6 billion euros towards the infrastructural development of this railway system. The construction and finalization of this rail corridor is projected to occur within a 48-month timeline.

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