A section of the Iranian railway from the city of Rasht to the port of Caspian, part of the "North-South" transport corridor, will be put into operation on June 20, the Tasnim news agency reported.
According to Tasnim, the opening ceremony will be attended by Iran's Acting President Mohammad Mokhber, Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash, a Russian presidential aide, and a Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan. The names of the Russian and Azerbaijani participants were not disclosed by the agency. Tasnim notes that the Rasht-Caspian railway stretches 37 km and was built with credit funds amounting to approximately 30 trillion rials (€630 million), with the total project cost estimated at around 35 trillion rials (€730 million).
The Rasht-Caspian section is the first phase of the 162 km Rasht-Astara railway, a joint construction agreement for which was signed by Russia and Iran on May 17, 2023. This railway will connect the land sections of the "North-South" corridor and enhance the economic efficiency of the Trans-Caspian route. Moscow is providing Tehran with an interstate loan of €1.3 billion for the project, while the total project cost is estimated at €1.6 billion.
The complete railway line is expected to be built by 2027-2028. Russian authorities anticipate that the project could serve as an alternative to the Suez Canal, ensuring a seamless route for transit shipments to Europe and from Russia to the Persian Gulf.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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Based on materials from TASS