Tehran, Iran, July 11
By Kamyar Eghbalnejad, A. Shirazi - Trend:
The deputy of Islamic Republic of Iran Railways said that efforts are underway to reduce tariffs for transportation of freight along the South-West Transport Corridor after the completion of the transit route.
“All railways have agreed to reduce transportation tariffs along the South-West Transport Corridor in a bid to encourage more clients to use the route,” Hossein Ashouri told Trend on July 11.
He added that this corridor, passing through Azerbaijan, Iran, Georgia, Ukraine and Poland, reduces time loss for the goods transportation between Europe and India.
According to estimates, the delivery of goods via this corridor is made within 12 days, while the time spent on alternative routes is 35 – 37 days.
The Iranian official further said goods from Germany and Ukraine could be carried through this corridor as the trade volume of the two European nations with the Islamic Republic is high.
The protocol on the development of combination of different modes of transportation via International Transport Corridor South-West between heads of railways, maritime and ports of Azerbaijan, Iran, Georgia and Ukraine was signed in Baku on January 12, 2016.
Due to the created conditions, it is possible to transport cargo on the route for 15 days, overcoming the distance of more than 7000 kilometers, delivering goods from India to Europe.
Elsewhere in the interview, the deputy of Islamic Republic of Iran Railways said the inauguration of the railroad to connect Iran’s northwestern city of Astara to a namesake Azerbaijani city will pave the way for delivery of goods to Iran via rail.
He further added, “We are working to prepare the documents for the tender on the construction of Rasht-Astara railway and hold the tender soon as Rasht-Astara Railroad is of great importance for the activation of the International North-South Transportation Corridor and South-West Corridor”.
Ashouri noted the volume of freight annually carried along the North-South Transportation Corridor is expected to reach 5 million tons in the near future.
The INSTC – which has an estimated cargo capacity of 20-30 million tons of goods per year - is expected to provide faster and more efficient trade connectivity between Europe and Southeast Asia.