TEHRAN, Iran, July 25. Iran will operate combined cargo transportation to Russia via Rasht-Astara and Rasht- Caspian Port railway routes, said a board member of the Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructures Company Abbas Khatibi, Trend reports citing Fars News Agency.
The construction of Rasht- Astara railway will be supported by the Plan and Budget Organization and especially via oil barter, he said adding that the priority of the Ministry of Road and Urban Development is to complete railway transit corridors.
According to the official, the construction of the Rasht – Astara railway had 70 percent progress and the government has approved the construction of the Rasht - Caspian port railway as a separate rail route section for combined cargo transportation to Russia and the Caspian Sea countries.
The construction process of the Rasht – Astara railway is in its primary steps and so far 160 kilometers have been activated to connect Iran and Russia as part of the International North-South Transportation Corridor (INSTC).
Following a contract between Iran and Azerbaijan, a waterfront has been built in Astara by the Iran Railway Company that will connect the rail route from Astara in Iran to Astara in Azerbaijan and then to Russia.