Technical details of Rasht-Astara railway project under discussion with Russia
About 70 percent of the technical issues regarding the Rasht-Astara railway project have been discussed and finalized with Russia, announced Kheirollah Khademi, the managing director of Iran’s Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructures Company (CDTIC).
“An agreement has already 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,” said the official, according to IRNA.
The agreement includes the general terms of the contract, the employer’s requirements, the funding methods, and the project implementation schedule, Khademi explained.
“After many technical meetings by the experts of the two countries, the railway’s blueprint was prepared with special amendments to increase the speed and capacity of the route.”
Iran and Russia inked an agreement on May 17 this year on the long-stalled construction of a railway connecting the northern Iranian cities of Rasht and Astara.
The railway has a key role in the International North-South Transit Corridor (INSTC).
With a total length of 162km, 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.