Official: Iran nears full launch of Rasht–Astara railway in four months

The Rasht–Astara railway will be fully opened in four months, the governor of Iran’s Gilan Province, Hadi Haghshenas, said.

He noted that over the past seven months, 70 kilometres of the Rasht–Astara line have been put into operation, while the total length of the route is 162 kilometres, with 90 kilometres already open, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

“Only 70 kilometres remain. I believe that the full opening of the Rasht–Astara railway will be completed in the next four months. The Iranian government is determined,” the governor said.

Hadi Haghshenas added that since the line is being commissioned in stages, preparatory rail-laying work is being carried out in parallel. The contractor company, which signed an agreement with Russia will move to the next stage once the railway becomes fully operational.

The overall construction period for the Rasht–Astara project is planned at three years.

The governor also noted that a trilateral commission meeting involving Azerbaijan, Russia and Iran took place in Baku last month: “Deputy prime ministers of Azerbaijan and Russia, Iran’s minister of roads and I participated. After the meeting, we travelled from Baku to Lankaran and then to Astara to review the project’s progress. The Iranian minister of roads issued the necessary instructions to speed up the work.”

Meanwhile, Rasht will host a meeting of leaders of the Caspian littoral regions on November 18–19, bringing together representatives from Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

The two-day event will focus on strengthening trade ties, transport and transit cooperation, fisheries, mutual investment, environmental issues and the development of the International North–South Transport Corridor.

Alongside government officials, diplomats and business representatives from the five Caspian states will also take part, with Azerbaijan represented by the heads of its coastal districts.

By Jeyhun Aghazada