TEHRAN - Iran and Russia have agreed on transit of 12 million tons of Russian goods via Iran along the International North-South Transit Corridor (INSTC), Head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (known as RAI) Miad Salehi announced.

The agreement has been made during Salehi’s visit to Russia for attending a meeting of the Coordinating Council on Trans-Eurasian Transportation (CCTT), IRIB reported on Thursday.

During his two-day visit to Moscow, Salehi met with the head of the Russian Railways and reached the abovementioned agreement.

“With the targeting of 12 million tons of transit in today's agreement with the head of Russian Railways, a new page is opened in Iran's international rail relations,” Salehi said.

Iran and Russia had signed another agreement in July for transiting 10 million tons of Russian goods through Iran.

The agreement was signed during the visit of an Iranian transport delegation to Russia.

Deputy Transport and Urban Development Minister for Transportation Affairs Shahriar Afandizadeh headed the mentioned delegation that included officials from aviation, maritime, and transportation agencies, as well as the private sector involved in transportation infrastructure.

The agreement was signed by Afandizadeh and Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Dmitry Zverev.

The Russian side also agreed to invest in establishing logistic hubs to increase transit capacity, especially in Shahid Rajaei and Chabahar ports in southern Iran.

Shortly after the signing of the mentioned agreement, the first Russian freight train arrived at Iran’s Sarakhs railway station in Khorasan-Razavi province on the border with Turkmenistan to officially launch the eastern section of the INSTC.

The Russian train was allowed into the Iranian border in a ceremony attended by First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber along with transport, oil, industry, and agriculture ministers as well as the vice president for science and technology.

Carrying 39 containers, the Russian transit train left Chekhov station on July 6, traveling 3,800 kilometers through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to enter Iran. The cargo was transported to Bandar Abbas port in southern Iran through a 1600 km rail route to finally be sent to India’s Nhava Sheva Port via sea.

The second Russian transit cargo for India entered Iran also from the northeastern Sarakhs border in early October.

In late October, Salehi stated that seven Russian freight trains heading for India crossed Iran during the said month.

Russian freight trains travel about 3,800 kilometers from Moscow to Sarkhes in the northeast Iran border and after crossing the country the cargoes would be shipped to India from Bandar Abas Port.

EF/MA