Tehran, Iran, Feb. 23
By Kamyar Eghbalnejad – Trend:
An Iranian railways official has described Astara as a “strategic” railway station due to its role in bringing the North-South Corridor into full operation.
Vahidali Qardashi, the head of engineering department at Iran Railways, told Trend that projects for the construction of railway facilities in the northern Iranian city of Astara have already been launched.
He further added that the North –South Transportation Corridor takes significance for the Islamic Republic due to its role in shortening the distance between Iran and Russia.
The corridor will definitely accelerate the process for carrying cargos and passengers in the mentioned route, he added.
Expressing satisfaction with the existing cooperation among the regional countries on the issue of the corridor, he expressed hope that the Rasht-Astra segment would come on stream as soon as possible in collaboration between Iran and Azerbaijan.
He further added that the North-South Corridor will link Iran’s southern ports to the Black Sea which is of high importance for the Islamic Republic.
The Azerbaijan Railways CJSC earlier said that the first freight train was sent off from Azerbaijan’s Astara city to Iran’s Astara city Feb. 8.
The International North-South Transport Corridor is meant to connect Northern Europe with Southeast Asia. It will serve as a link connecting the railways of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia. At the initial stage, it is planned to transport 5 million tons of cargo per year through the corridor and over 10 million tons of cargo in future.
In order to complete the mega project of the North-South Corridor, three railroad segments connecting the northwestern city of Qazvin to the border city of Astara should be constructed inside Iran.
The first segment is Qazvin-Rasht, which, according to Iranian officials, is almost completed and expected to be inaugurated soon.
The second segment connecting the cities of Rasht and Astara is expected to be constructed within three years with the financial aid of Azerbaijan.
In the meantime the sides have already utilized the Astara-Astara segment, which connects the two border cites of the same name in Iran and Azerbaijan.