INSTC: Iran's Qazvin-Rasht Railway to Roll on Wednesday
EghtesadOnline: The railroad linking the two Iranian cities of Qazvin and Rasht is expected to be inaugurated today (March 6) in the presence of President Hassan Rouhani.
The railroad project—164-kilometer-long—is crucial in that it is one of the missing links in the International North-South Transport Corridor, which will facilitate the transportation of goods from Mumbai in India to Helsinki in Finland upon completion, using Iranian ports and railroads.
A rail route connecting Rasht to Astara on the border with Azerbaijan is another missing link along the INSTC, IRNA reported.
INSTC would substantially cut the travel time for everything from Asian consumer goods to Central Asia’s natural resources to advanced European exports, Financial Tribune reported.
The upcoming inauguration comes after high-ranking officials from Iran and 12 other countries, namely India, Russia, Turkey, Tajikistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Oman, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Syria, concluded two days of meetings in Tehran to coordinate work on INSTC on Monday and Tuesday.
All of the above-mentioned states are located along the international transportation corridor.