Русский
Russia and Iran hope to begin construction work on the Rasht-Astara railway line in northern Iran in 2027 and complete it within three years, Russian Railways (RZD) First Deputy CEO Sergei Pavlov has stated. He was speaking at the 8th New Silk Way International Transport and Logistics Business Forum on Thursday (October 15).
Pavlov said that “the project is being implemented, and surveying work is already in full swing there. It began at the start of this year, then there was a pause due to the military action, and now it has been fully resumed.”
Russia and Iran began carrying out surveying work for the Rasht-Astara railway line in May last year. The plans involve building a railway track 162 kilometers in length and building eight new stations, 56 trestles, 73 bridges, and 30 overpasses. The section will form part of the International North-South Transport Corridor.
The total cost of the project is US$1.8 billion, of which Russia will provide US$1.46 billion. Once completed, the railway alone is expected to carry at least 15 million tonnes of freight a year.
The International North-South Transport Corridor links northern Europe with states in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean via Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. Russia, Iran, and India signed an agreement on the creation of a multimodal corridor in 2002, and it now has 12 participating countries. The corridor comprises three routes—a western route along the western coast of the Caspian Sea, an eastern route along the eastern coast, and the trans-Caspian route through the Caspian Sea.
