The chief executive of the Railways of the Islamic Republic of Iran (RAI) said Tehran and Ankara have targeted transporting one million tons of cargo via rail network between the two countries in the next Iranian calendar year (to start March 20, 2024).
Speaking in a joint meeting with Director General of Turkish State Railways Hasan Pezük and General Manager and Chairman of Turkey’s RAILWAYS Company Ufuk Yalçın, Iran’s Deputy Roads Minister Miad Salehi said that transporting one million tons of freight via rail between Tehran and Ankara is on the agenda.
During the meeting, the two sides agreed to exchange 200 train cars from Razi Border with the aim of transporting one million tons of freight through rail networks between Iran and Turkey in the next year.
Turkey would embark on reconstructing its rail network infrastructure and also remove the problems caused by the reduced water level in Turkey’s Lake Van.
The CEO of Railways of the Islamic Republic of Iran expressed hope that the capacity of transiting train cars from Lake Van would reach its maximum by reconstructing, renovating and upgrading the pier.
With the agreements made in this regard, giant strides will be taken to increase the volume of cargo transit to Europe via Turkey, he said, adding that since Turkey is considered a gateway for transiting goods from Asia to Europe, Iran will be able to transport cargoes from the origin of China, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan to Turkey and Europe.