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
Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan form joint venture on INSTC
The railway companies of Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan have formed a new joint venture to operate rail freight services on the eastern branch of the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC). This corridor links Russia...Read more
Russian fuel already finds its way to Iran via INSTC’s eastern branch
Following an energy supply deal of 40 billion US dollars last year, Russia has started the first fuel shipments to Iran via rail. It appears that already in February and March this year, 30,000 tonnes...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
Bahrain wants in on the INSTC
The Kingdom of Bahrain signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Turkmenistan to become part of the International North-South Transport Corridor. Turkmenistan Railways and Bahrain’s Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunication have agreed to connect the two...Read more
EAEU and China want to digitalise their rail freight movements
The Eurasian Economic Union’s (EAEU) Member States and China signed a roadmap to speed up the digitalisation of rail freight between them. This simply means that after implementation, digitalisation could significantly boost rail freight services...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
KTZ Express: new India-Kazakhstan service via Iran-Turkmenistan
Kazakhstan is joining Russia in the quest to develop the eastern branch of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). The newest development is that KTZ Express, the multimodal subsidiary of Kazakhstan’s national railway company KTZ,...Read more
RZD to open an office in Turkmenistan and vice versa
Russia and Turkmenistan recently signed an MoU concerning the possibility of opening a Russian Railways (RZD) office in Turkmenistan and a Turkmen Railways office in Russia.Read more
RZD to offer discounts on the Moscow-Mumbai corridor
Russian Railways (RZD) will offer a 20 per cent discount for the transportation of containers along the eastern branch of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). The discount will be valid throughout 2023.Read more
12 million tons of cargo to transit Iran yearly on Moscow-Mumbai route
A new agreement between Russian Railways (RZD) and the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (RAI) will boost the transit volumes between Russia and India via Iran to 12 million tons of cargo per year. The...Read more
Cargo from Russia through Azerbaijan almost doubles this year
Transit of cargo from Russia via Azerbaijan increased by 98 per cent since the beginning of the year. This was revealed by Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Ali Asadov during a recently held meeting with Russian...Read more
Russia want to double capacity on Moscow-Mumbai corridor
Russia wants to increase the capacity of the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC). The throughput capacity of all branches of the corridor between Russia and India is, at full potential, 14 million tonnes per...Read more
EU scrambles for Central Asian connections, a response to growing Russian presence?
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) launched a study to examine the best possible connections between Central Asian countries and the European TEN-T network. The study will last until the summer of 2023...Read more
Iran inaugurates critical INSTC railway section
The railway section connecting Zahedan and Khash, in southeastern Iran, was inaugurated on Thursday, 10 November. This segment is the first part of the Zahedan-Chabahar route, which will be incorporated into the International North-South Transport...Read more
Iran and Kazakhstan test new sea-rail service to the port of Bandar Abbas
Iran and Kazakhstan agreed on starting a test run at the beginning of 2023 for a multimodal sea-rail freight service to give landlocked Kazakhstan a connection to the Persian Gulf. The two countries are forming...Read more