BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 6. About 70 percent of the technical issues related to the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway, located in the Iranian part of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) have been agreed with the Russian side, Iranian Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development and CEO of Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructure Company (CDTIC), Kheirollah Khademi said, Trend reports.
On May 17, 2023, an agreement on the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway line was signed between Iran and Russia in Tehran.
In general, 9 stations will be built on the 163 km long Rasht-Astara railway line. With the completion of the construction of this railway, the International North-South Transport Corridor will be improved and Iran's railway network will be connected to the Caucasus countries, Russia, and Northern European countries.
According to the agreement, the Russian side is expected to spend 1.6 billion euros on the construction of this railway. This railway is planned to be built and completed within 48 months.
Khademi emphasized that the number of bridges on the Rasht-Astara railway line, the loading and unloading terminal, the length of the stations and other issues have already been finalized. Also, certain changes were made to the road map in order to increase the speed of the railway line.
The deputy minister added that the remaining 30 percent of issues related to the construction of this railway line are expected to be resolved within the next 2.5 months.
He also stated that it is possible to use the capabilities of Iranian companies to start and quickly complete the construction of the railway line.
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.
---
Follow the author on X (Twitter):@BaghishovElnur