ANALYSIS – Rail freight connections to Afghanistan have been high on the agenda for governments in the region, as they could open up Central Asian markets for countries in the southeast of Asia, most notably...Read more
US sanctions have impacted international rail freight activity in Iran for many years. Important connections are not realised, or not consumed as they should be. At the same time, the importance of Iran in connecting...Read more
New light is shed on the case of the Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad train. The service that promised a lot but never happened seems never to have been feasible, and if there is someone to blame, that is...Read more
The Iranian port of Chabahar could become a transshipment hub connecting India, Iran and Central Asia. This is not a novelty. However, a new step was taken in that direction by India, which has proposed...Read more
The Iranian missing link on the railway corridor from Russia to India is likely to remain missing for a while longer. The government is not very decisive when it comes to building the railway line...Read more
As international rail freight superpowers grow, India should not be overlooked. The country is not a new rail freight market. However, it is an extensive and full of possibilities market that seems to take all...Read more
The Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad train project would begin operations on 4 March, but the first trip was cancelled multiple times. What could be the possible reasons for this situation? According to the customers, it was all a...Read more
Following the trilateral ceasefire agreement between Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan that ended the Nagorno-Karabakh war, Azerbaijan plans to revive a forgotten Caucasian rail link. Specifically, Azerbaijan wants to reopen a railway line connecting it with...Read more
The revival of the ITI corridor between Turkey, Iran and Pakistan has been long-awaited. Operations were about to begin a couple of weeks ago, with the train departing from Istanbul on 4 March and arriving...Read more
According to Pakistan Railways, the Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad corridor will begin its operations tomorrow, on Thursday 4. On this date, the train will leave Istanbul to arrive in Islamabad on 16 March, following a twelve-day trip. The...Read more
Rail freight volumes between Turkey and Iran should reach a million tonnes in 2021, according to the Turkish ministry of transport and infrastructure. In a recent meeting with Iranian counterparts, a new era for the...Read more
Turkey, Iran and Pakistan want to revive services of the Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad train this year. Pakistan wants to connect this line with China’s Belt and Road network through Pakistan’s ML-1 railway line, the largest component of...Read more
As of Thursday 10 December, Iran and Afghanistan are connected by rail. The launching of the Khaf (Iran)-Herat (Afghanistan) railway line was accompanied by the first freight train carrying agricultural goods. A week earlier, a...Read more
The Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (IRIR) is engaged in a significant expansion of its rail network, with the intention of radically increasing rail’s nine per cent modal share (33 million tonnes) of annual freight...Read more
The rail freight terminal in the Iranian town of Astara is continuing to strengthen its significance on the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). In 2019 it handled freight volumes by around 38 per cent more...Read more
Russian Railways has stopped its infrastructure activities in Iran. It made this announcement today, 2 April. Its subsidiary RZD International was working on the electrification of the vital Garmsar – Inche Bourun railway line. This...Read more
The national railways of Turkey, Iran and Pakistan have agreed to resume regular operations of the Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad (ITI) container train as soon as possible. All necessary preparations for dispatching the ITI Container train have been...Read more
In over a month after launching the direct rail freight link to Afghanistan, China inaugurated a container train to another Central Asian state – Turkmenistan. The new service connects Kelif railway station in the eastern...Read more
