Kheirollah Khademi, the managing director of Iran's Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructures Company (CDTIC), has said 70 percent of the technical issues regarding the Rasht-Astara railway project have been discussed and finalized with Russia, and the rest will also be finalized soon.
“An agreement has been signed with Russia so that this country will provide us with a government loan for the construction and completion of the Rasht-Astara railway; this agreement includes the general and private terms of the contract, the employer's requirements, the funding methods, and the project implementation schedule,” Khademi told the news portal of the Iranian Transport Ministry.
The official also announced the signing of the executive blue prints of the railway and added: “After many technical and specialized meetings by the experts of the two countries, the railway’s blue print was prepared with special amendments to increase the speed and capacity of the route.”
Iran and Russia, both under harsh Western sanctions, on May 17 inked an agreement on the long-stalled construction of a railway connecting the northern Iranian cities of Rasht and Astara.
The railway is key to the International North-South Transit Corridor (INSTC).
Spanning 162 km (100.6 miles), the railway is a crucial element of the INSTC. The corridor integrates road, rail, and sea transportation, facilitating the movement of goods between Russia and India via Iran.