Metal theft causes train delays and increased costs for DB
Metal thefts increasingly disrupt Deutsche Bahn’s (DB) freight transportation operations. Thieves are especially interested in removing copper cables, thus causing substantial damage to German railway infrastructure. The damage, in turn, results in significant delays for...Read more
Connecting India and Central Asia via Latvia, how and why?
India has the ambition to step closer to Central Asian countries, but direct rail connections from India to Central Asia are unrealistic for mostly geopolitical reasons. Thus, rail-sea intermodal services become the solution, despite the...Read more
Will INSTC synergy attempts produce the expected results?
A new technology and logistics union is in the making in Russia to foster closer trade and economic ties with countries around the Caspian Sea and Central Asia. The union’s primary purpose will be to...Read more
Indian Railways to deploy aeroplane-inspired mixed cargo wagons
Indian Railways plan to deploy mixed cargo-passenger wagons, which can accommodate up to six tonnes of freight each. The wagons will use the belly freight concept, which is very popular in air transportation. Production has...Read more
Russia-India: more test shipments for Chabahar port but no investments
The port of Chabahar is again becoming a core development point for the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). Russia, India and Iran plan more test shipments in the coming months that will include it. However,...Read more
Turkmenistan officially joins the INSTC
The Russian government has agreed to have Turkmenistan join the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). The addition of Turkmenistan offers an alternative route on the eastern branch of the corridor that would bypass Azerbaijan.Read more
Iran joins SCO, Russia-India corridor hyped for more investments
Iran officially joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on 4 July, increasing the current SCO membership to nine. Alongside member states Russia and India, this new membership brings greater potential to the port of Chabahar,...Read more
Moscow-Mumbai corridor to exceed 100 million tons, but when?
Russian Railways (RZD) has announced that the International North-South Trade Corridor (INSTC) has the potential to exceed 100 million tons. In terms of rail transport alone, the volume of this corridor increased by 60 per...Read more
India: signal failure likely accident cause, freight train indirectly involved
The train accident in India (Odisha state) on Friday, 2 June, marks one of the deadliest railway disasters in the country, with at least 288 dead and over 1,000 injured. Officials investigating the accident during...Read more
Can India teach some lessons on rail freight policy?
ANALYSISIndia’s rail freight market is unique in many ways. The country has an established and fully functional network of dedicated freight corridors, double-stack trains and ambitious plans to shift substantial freight volumes on the rail....Read more
Iran to unlock a new rail route on Russia-India corridor
Iran is about to complete the construction of a railway section on the Russia-India route. The new section will connect the Iranian Caspian seaport city Bandar Anzali and Rasht. The line is expected to be...Read more
Major rail project in Middle East, US leverage against China-Russia
ANALYSISJake Sullivan, the White House National Security advisor, met with his Saudi, Emirati and Indian counterparts and discussed a joint railway project linking the Middle East to India via a railway network crossing Saudi Arabia,...Read more
Under pressure: Russia-India attempt to speed up INSTC trade
ANALYSISThe Russo-Indian relations’ development dynamics are increasingly characterised by interdependence and attempts for more engagement. The two countries share plans varying from sea transport to rail freight, joint ventures and payment mechanisms, but not all...Read more
From Moscow to Mumbai: geopolitical powerplay determines the corridor’s future
ANALYSISIs the International-North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) still too young to determine its development? Even though the corridor has been in the spotlight for more than a year, it still faces certain limitations affecting its establishment...Read more
The port of Chabahar needs 91 million euros, India will only invest 11
In its budget for the coming fiscal year, which in India goes from April to April, the Indian government has allocated only a little over 11 million euros for the development of the Chabahar port....Read more
Everyone wants to reap the fruits of INSTC
ANALYSISWhat started as a far-fetched but relatively promising route and developed into Russia’s main diversification corridor is now becoming a hot trend everyone wishes to join. It’s all about the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC)...Read more
Something is moving in Central Asia with Agroexpress rail services
The Eurasian Agroexpress project, officially launched in 2022 by member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), is here to stay and expand. In its first year of operation, the rail project scored sufficient numbers...Read more
Russia-Iran streamline interbank payments for more transport and investments
Russia and Iran have officially entered an agreement to connect their interbank payment systems. Iran’s Shakr Bank and Russia’s VTB Bank will lead a project to link 158 banks and facilitate payments, investments, and other...Read more
New railway line connecting east and west, this time in Iraq
A new railway link from the Persian Gulf to Turkey and eventually Europe is in the design phase. The country of transit? Iraq. The country is speeding up the project, as it is well aware...Read more