Iran and Turkmenistan railway officials explored avenues for expansion of trade through the recently inaugurated Iran-Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan railway during their official meeting in the small border city of Inche Boroun, in the Golestan Province of Iran, on Wednesday.
The north-south transport railway corridor which was inaugurated in December opened up a direct rail connection between the three countries to the east of the Caspian Sea and is expected to boost economic relations between these countries.
“Iran and Turkmenistan are prepared to commence cargo transportations through the Inche Boroun border point in the near future,” announced Morteza ali Ahmadi, the trade and marketing manager of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railway, according to the website of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways.
Referring to a trade agreement signed between Iran and Turkmenistan in the official meeting, Ahmadi said it was decided that 2 million tons of grain (500 thousand tons in cooperation with Turkmenistan and 1.5 million tons with the help of Kazakhstan) will be transported through the railroad with Iran acting as the coordinator. The long-awaited transnational railway linking Central Asia with the Persian Gulf was officially inaugurated on December3 in the presence of presidents of Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.
It is estimated that initially three to five million tons of cargo will be transported via this route per annum. The volume is set to increase in the long run to 10-12 million tons. This route is around 600 km shorter than the more easterly route through Sarakhs. The railway will play an important role in connecting the Caspian Sea and surrounding states – from the border with Kazakhstan to Bereket in western Turkmenistan.
Finance for the $1·4 billion project has come from a variety of sources, with the Islamic Development Bank, Saudi Fund for Development, Abu Dhabi Fund for Development and the Asian Development Bank contributing to the Turkmen section.
The railway features 10kV overhead power lines, distribution and supervisory control, and data acquisition (SCADA) system which monitors and controls the trains operating on the entire rail system. Most operations are controlled with the help of an automatic remote terminal unit (RTU) or by programmable logic controllers (PLCs). The communication system involves installation and commissioning of the mobile train radio communication (MTRC) system.
