BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 26. The Rasht-Caspian part of the railway line connecting the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf in Iran's Gilan Province is estimated to be put into use by the end of this Iranian year (March 19, 2024), Deputy Director of the Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructures Company (CDTIC), Abbas Khatibi said, Trend reports.
Iran intends to activate the middle direction of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) by connecting the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf through a railway line. The INSTC has three routes on Iran's territory. The eastern route is Turkmenistan and Central Asian countries; the middle route is Russia and other countries via the Caspian Sea; and the western route is Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, and Eastern European countries.
The total length of the Rasht-Caspian railway line is 65 kilometers. Some 28 kilometers of this railway line have been put into use in the past few years.
According to Khatibi, construction work on 37 kilometers of the Rasht-Caspian railway line has been completed by 86 percent. Concreting and other infrastructure work have been completed by 95 percent, and rails have been laid on 25 kilometers of the railway. Also, 80 percent of the physical work in the construction of the stations has been completed.
Khatibi added that 30 trillion rials (about $714 million) were spent on the construction of this railway line.
The official said that with the launch of this railway line, it will be possible for the countries along the Caspian coast to use the middle direction of the INSTC for cargo transportation.
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 the North-South Transport Corridor.
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