The first freight trains will operate on the Astara (Azerbaijan)-Astara (Iran) railroad section in late November 2017, the chairman of Azerbaijan Railways CJSC said.
The two eponymous cities are located across from the Iran-Azerbaijan border.
Javid Gurbanov made the statement at the Argus Azerbaijan International Petroleum Summit 2017 in Baku on Thursday, Trend News Agency reported.
“The construction of the Astara-Astara section of the International North-South Transport Corridor has been almost completed,” he said.
“All the work in Azerbaijan’s territory has been completed. A rail bridge over the Astarachay River is ready and the first test train will be launched over it in March.”
The International North-South Transport Corridor is aimed at connecting Northern Europe with Southeast Asia. It will serve as a link connecting the railroads of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia.
The corridor is planned to transport 5 million tons of cargo per year in the initial stage and more than 10 million tons of cargo in the future.
