Astara-Rasht railway to increase transit cargo traffic between Russia and Iran to 15 million tonnes per year — Alexander Novak
An agreement on construction of the railway was signed by Russia and Iran in the presence of the nations’ presidents on May 17
Once the project on construction of Astara-Rasht railway becomes operational, Russia-Iran cargo turnover by rail will increase to at least 15 million tonnes per year in terms of transit cargo with an option to expand, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak said after an intergovernmental agreement with Iran on cooperation in the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway line in Iran was signed, according to the press center of RF Government.
An agreement on construction of the railway aimed at boosting transportation via the International North-South Transport Corridor was signed by Russia and Iran in the presence of the nations’ presidents on May 17.
The international North-South transport corridor was initiated in order to move forward Russia’s strategic partnership with the Caspian Sea countries and to organise Northern and Western Europe’s transit link with the South Caucasus, the Persian Gulf and South Asia.
““This agreement is critically important and allows us to move to a whole new phase of cooperation in the transport field,” Alexander Novak said after the agreement had been signed. “The next phase includes the construction of a 162 km-long Astara-Rasht railway line, which will close the railway loop going across Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran from Ust-Luga and St Petersburg to the port of Bandar Abbas in the Persian Gulf. After this project goes live, we will have a through route for transit shipment of goods to Europe and the Persian Gulf. In fact, this represents a global change in supply chains. Once the project becomes operational, Russia-Iran cargo turnover by rail will increase to at least 15 million tonnes per year in terms of transit cargo with an option to expand. This project can offer an alternative to the Suez Canal,” he said.
The Deputy Prime Minister also held a working meeting with the Co-Chair of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation between the two countries, Iranian Petroleum Minister Javad Owji. The talks focused on improving сustoms cooperation, cooperation in trade, industry, engineering in the fuel and energy sector, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, shipping and aircraft construction, as well as establishing the Russian Export Centre in Iran. The parties also discussed the preparation of a Free Trade Agreement between the EAEU and Iran.
In 2022, trade between Russia and Iran increased by 20.2 percent and came close to $5 billion, a record figure in recent history.
As IAA PortNews reported earlier, an agreement between the Government of Russia and the Government of Iran on construction of the Rasht-Astara railway was signed via videoconference by Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ebrahim Raisi. As Vladimir Putin said during the ceremony, it will take about 10 days to deliver consignments from St Petersburg to Mumbai while it takes 30 to 45 days to deliver them using traditional commercial routes.
North-South international transport corridor (ITC) is a 7,200-kilometre-long transport artery from St Petersburg to ports in Iran and India. North-South ITC has a western and an eastern branch, both running across Iran. The western one foresees cargo transportation by road via Rasht, the eastern one – by railway. The end point in Iran is the port of Bandar Abbas from which cargo can be delivered to India by sea. The western branch also crosses Azerbaijan, the eastern one – Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Besides, direct water transportation from Russia to Iran by the Caspian Sea is possible.
The volume of Russian cargo transported by the North-South ITC is expected to double by 2030, from the current 17 million tonnes to 32 million tonnes.
