Russia expects to begin construction of the Rasht-Astara railway in Iran in 2027

Russia and Iran expect to begin construction of the Rasht-Astara railway line in northern Iran in 2027 and to complete the work within three years, said Sergei Pavlov, first deputy general director of Russian Railways (RZD).

He added that, under the terms of the intergovernmental agreement, construction is planned to be completed within three years.

"It is being implemented (the project), survey work is already underway there, fully deployed. It began at the start of this year, then there was a break because of military operations, and now it has been fully resumed," Pavlov explained.

As reported, in May of last year Russia and Iran began survey work for the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway line, where it is planned to lay 162 km of railway track, build eight new stations, 56 overpasses, 73 bridges and 30 flyovers. The section will become part of the North-South international transport corridor (ITC).

The total cost of the project is 1.6 billion euros, including 1.3 billion euros to be allocated by Russia. It is expected that the total volume of freight turnover after the implementation of this project by rail alone will amount to at least 15 million tons per year.

Source: Interfax