Iran opens the 37 km Qazvin-Rasht rail extension to Bandar-e Anzali, enhancing the International North-South Transport Corridor and reducing transit times between northern Europe, the Volga basin, and the Indian subcontinent.
The 37 km extension of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (RAI) Qazvin-Rasht line to the Caspian Sea port of Bandar-e Anzali was officially opened on June 20. This marks the completion of another section of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) through Central Asia.
The line’s inauguration was celebrated with a ceremony attended by Iran’s acting President Mohammad Mokhber and Minister of Transport and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash. The event also saw the presence of Russian presidential aide Igor Levitin, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev, and the Governor of Astrakhan, Oblast Igor Babushkin, along with ambassadors from neighbouring countries.
Running through the northern Iranian province of Gilan, the Rasht-Caspian Railway Project establishes a continuous rail link across Iran from the Caspian Sea to the Gulf port of Bandar Abbas. As a part of the INSTC, it will facilitate intermodal freight movement between northern Europe, the Volga basin, and the Indian subcontinent via a combination of rail and shipping connections. This new route is expected to cut transit time between St. Petersburg and Mumbai to around 10 days, significantly shorter than the 30 to 45 days required by longer maritime routes.
The north-south corridor, developed jointly by Iran, Azerbaijan, and Russia, also includes a rail link under construction along the western side of the Caspian Sea between Rasht and the Azeri border town of Astara.
Minister Bazrpash described the opening of the port branch as a historic development, significantly boosting Iran’s capacity to handle transit freight by rail. Kheirullah Khademi, CEO of the Iranian construction company that built the line, stated that it could carry up to 7 million tonnes of freight per year, along with 600,000 passengers.
