BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 3. A 37-car Russian freight train carrying cargo within the framework of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), entered Iran through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, the CEO of Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (IRIR), Miad Salehi said, Trend reports citing Iranian Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.
According to Salehi, the transported cargo is chemical fertilizer.
The CEO added that Russian cargo was transported for the first time via the mentioned route in the 4th month (June 22 through July 22, 2022). It is expected that there will be regular traffic on this route.
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.
The 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 km long Rasht-Astara railway line must be built in Iran.
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