TEHRAN - With the inauguration of three rail lines in the provinces of Yazd and Isfahan, the total length of rail lines inaugurated during the administration of the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi reached 800 kilometers, an official said.

Miad Salehi, the CEO of the Railways of the Islamic Republic of Iran (RAI), said connecting the large industrial and mineral centers to the rail lines has many advantages, adding that assuring the transportation of agricultural raw materials, reducing traffic congestion and accidents, and also reducing fuel consumption are among the important advantages of the development of the rail lines.

Earlier, Mehrdad Bazrpash, Iran’s minister of roads and urban development, speaking in the inaugural ceremony of the Rasht-Caspian Railway at the Anzali Free Zone, said that the administration of the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi made round-the-clock efforts for the completion of the Rasht-Caspian Rail project.

The Rasht-Caspian Railway Project in Iran’s northern province of Gilan was inaugurated on June 20, 2024.

It was launched in a ceremony to be attended by Iran's Acting President Mohammad Mokhber, Minister of Transport and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash, Aide to the President of the Russian Federation Igor Levitin, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan Shahin Mustafayev, Governor of Astrakhan Oblast Igor Babushkin and the ambassadors of the neighboring countries.

The project will bring considerable benefits to Iran and regional transport networks. Upon operation of this rail project, which is part of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), the Persian Gulf will be connected to the Caspian Sea via rail.

The 37-kilometer Rasht-Caspian Railway completes the Qazvin-Rasht rail route and connects the city of Rasht to the Caspian Sea.

Located in the northern part of Iran, the primary purpose of the Rasht-Caspian Railway is to enhance connectivity to facilitate transportation and trade links between Iran and the Caspian Sea region northward and to the railway network southward. It provides a more efficient and cost-effective mode of transportation for freight and passengers.

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