BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 13. Since June 12, Russian coal has been transited through the territory of Iran for the first time, said Miad Salehi, deputy minister of Roads and Urban Development and CEO of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Trend reports.
According to Salehi, the transit of coal is carried out through the eastern direction of the International North-South Corridor within the framework of the agreement reached between Iran and Russian railroads.
Salehi noted that on 12 June, two trains with 59 wagons belonging to Russia transported coal from Russia's Bardino railroad station to Iran's Sarakhs railroad station and were loaded into Iranian wagons. This cargo will be delivered to Bandar Abbas station after covering a distance of 1,600 kilometers through the territory of Iran and will be shipped to India by sea.
Meanwhile, coal is a strategic product that Russia constantly exports to India. So far, this product has been transported by sea. The transit of Russian coal through Iran may lead to a significant increase in Iran's rail transportation.
A total of 1.57 million tons of product was transported by Iranian railroads during the last Iranian year (from March 21, 2023, through March 19, 2024). Transit of products through Iran's railroads increased by 10 percent compared to the previous year (from March 21, 2022, through March 20, 2023).
To note, the length of railway lines in Iran is currently 14,984 kilometers. A total of 993 locomotives, 29,950 freight wagons, and 2,178 passenger cars are operating on Iran's railroad lines.
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