A train carrying Russian goods to India crossed into Iran from Sarakhs Border with Turkmenistan late Monday.
This is the first consignment dispatched from Russia to India via Iran on the International North-South Transportation Corridor, according to Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Rostam Qasemi.
“The train, carrying 39 containers, has traveled 3,800 kilometers from Moscow, passed Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan on its way, and reached Sarakhs in northeast Iran. The train started its trip from Moscow on June 27,” Qasemi was quoted as saying by News.mrud.ir.
He noted that the transit train set off on its way from Sarakhs on Tuesday.
Sarakhs border city is located 202 kilometers to the northeast of Khorasan Razavi Province’s capital Mashhad.
“Iran’s geopolitical location makes transit through the country not only financially beneficial, but it also benefits us from political, safety and social perspectives. We have signed agreements with our neighbors for the transit of up to 20 million tons to take place every year. Part of these agreements have transpired so far and we are taking active measures for the rest to happen,” Qasemi said.
Miad Salehi, the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways, said the train will follow a 1,600-kilometer route in the Iranian territory before reaching Shahid Rajaee Port in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas.
“The consignments will then be loaded on ships to be carried to Nhava Sheva Port in Navi Mumbai’s Raigad district of India,” he added.
Plans for the train to traverse this route was made last winter when Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visited Russia.
“This can not only bring revenues to us but will also benefit us from a political standpoint. The Raisi administration puts special emphasis on transportation cooperation with neighboring countries, the Commonwealth of Independent States in particular,” the IRIR chief said.
Salehi estimated that freight transportation on Sarakhs-Bandar Abbas route, will be 8 million tons per year in the long run.
He added that this is the easternmost INSTC route in Iran. We hope that the central route, passing through Incheh Boroun (in Golestan Province) to Garmsar (in Semnan Province) and Tehran and then Bafq (in Yazd Province), will also become operational.
INSTC is a major transit route designed to facilitate the transportation of goods from Mumbai in India to Helsinki in Finland, using Iranian ports and railroads, which the Islamic Republic plans to connect to those of Azerbaijan and Russia.
The corridor connects Iran with Russia’s Baltic ports and give Russia rail connectivity to both the Persian Gulf and the Indian rail network.
This means goods could be carried from Mumbai to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas and further to Baku. They could then pass across the Russian border into Astrakhan before proceeding to Moscow and St. Petersburg, before entering Europe.
Iran is expected to complete 170 kilometers of the railroad between the cities of Rasht and Astara to create a connection with Russia and Finland in Europe.
Advantages for Asia, Europe
INSTC would substantially cut the travel time for everything from Asian consumer goods to Central Eurasia’s natural resources to advanced European exports.
The multimodal route is estimated to reduce the time and cost of transportation of goods between India and Europe from 40 to 15 days. The corridor is said to have the potential of diverting up to 10 million tons of India-Europe trade to the route.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines says it is sending 300 containers to Russia to be used on the arterial route.
In a statement, IRISL says the number of containers will increase following the rise in demand, IRNA reported.
“The cost of transportation of freight from India to Russia’s Astrakhan is 35% less through Iran and the International North-South Transportation Corridor,” says the secretary of Association for Shipping Companies and Related Services.
“Transportation of each 20-foot and 40-foot container on other routes cost $3,000 and $3,700 respectively. If the Suez Channel is used these prices will go up by 60%,” Masoud Polmeh was also quoted as saying by IRIB News.
Marine transportation between India and Finland takes between 45 and 60 days while it takes 37 days through INSTC, he added.
Iran and Russia have agreed on details of their plan to transit 10 million tons of goods along INSTC, the news portal of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development of Iran reported recently.
The agreement was made during a meeting of the two sides’ transportation officials in Moscow on June 28-29.
The Iranian side was led by deputy minister of roads and urban development for transportation, Shahriyar Afandizadeh. He was accompanied by deputies and officials of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization, Ports and Maritime Organization, and the Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructures Company as well as representatives of the private sector in marine and road transportation.
The Russian side was led by Dmitry Zverev, deputy transport minister.
Afandizadeh and his Russian counterpart signed a protocol for their agreement.
A wide range of subjects related to cooperation in transit and transportation were discussed during the two days of meeting, but the transit of 10 million tons of goods along the International North-South Transit Corridor was the main topic.
