Russian Gauge Railway To Connect With Iranian Gulf Ports & INSTC

Russia and Iran are negotiating the construction of a Russian-standard gauge railway from the Iranian city of Parsabad on the Iranian border with Azerbaijan, to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas on the Persian Gulf coast, according to Kazem Jalali, the Iranian Ambassador in Moscow.

Russian rail gauge is 1,520 mm wide, Iran’s is 1,435 mm. Allowing Russian gauge would make rail and subsequent multimodal deliveries far easier along the North-South Transport Corridor, part of the INSTC.

Direct rail communication will be provided without downtime due to the change of wheelsets between the Russian regions Iran’s largest Persian Gulf port, which will contribute to increasing cargo turnover on the North-South transport corridor, a priority for Russia.

Jalali said that “In addition to the Rasht-Astara railway line, Russia wants to invest in the construction of a Russian-standard gauge railway from Parsabad to Bandar Abbas” in discussions reported with Masoud Pezeshkian, the President of Iran. Pezeshkian recently met Russian President Putin at the BRICS conference in Kazan.

Pezeshkian said that “The expansion of railways from north to south will benefit the people and economy of Iran and will be able to meet the economic needs of Russia and Iran” and instructed to accelerate the construction of the Rasht-Astara route, which has been holding up development of the INSTC. At the moment there is no direct railway connection between Russia and Iran through Azerbaijan, since the Rasht-Astara connecting line has not yet been completed. Because of this, goods are transported by rail to the border of Azerbaijan with Iran, and from there they are reloaded onto road transport, slowing down the delivery of goods.

However, in May last year, Russia and Iran signed an agreement on the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway line, according to which Moscow will allocate the equivalent of US$1.6 billion for the implementation of the project. It is expected that the 170km railway link will be fully operational by the end of 2027. This gives Russia additional access to the world oceans through Iranian ports, and also connects it with Asia, the Middle East and East African markets.

At present, direct railway connection between Russia and Iran runs along the eastern branch of the INSTC through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan – a rather longer route.