Azerbaijan officially launched a rail link with Iran on Sunday by sending a train across the border to Iran’s northern city of Astara thus taking an ambitious multimodal transport project that connects northern Europe to India closer to reality.
Indian Railways is considering the possibility of building a transcontinental rail freight service that would connect India with Iran and Turkey, a report said.
Iran has launched a direct passenger train service between its northeastern city of Mashhad and Azerbaijan’s isolated enclave of Nakhchivan – a move which is expected to provide the landlocked region with a wide access to Iran’s national rail network.
Germany has reportedly agreed to provide Iran with a €1.2 billion ($1.27 billion) credit line to help finance a key rail project in what is seen as the biggest foreign financing the country has been able to secure after the removal of sanctions.
Bulgaria says it has seen positive signs that Iran is determined to press ahead with a plan to establish a multimodal transit link that involves a railroad that passes through its territory toward the heart of Europe.
Iran’s ambassador to Azerbaijan says the two countries are “seriously” resolved to complete the Rasht-Astara railway project.
Pakistani Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan said his country is deeply interested in laying modern rail tracks and renovating existing routes for direct and transit trade with Iran and Afghanistan.