The President of JSC Russian Railways (RZD) Mr Oleg Belozerov – also Chairman of UIC – met the Minister of Roads and Urban Development of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Dr Abbas Akhoundi, together with the Vice Minister, President of the Railways of the Islamic Republic of Iran (RAI), Dr Mohsen Pour Seyed Aghaie, on 15 May in Tehran on the occasion of the first international conference organised by UIC and ITE in cooperation with RAI on the Oil, Rail & Port cooperation. During these meetings, RZD and RAI discussed the perspectives of cooperation between Russia and Iran for the development of the railway infrastructure in the region of the Caspian Sea, and the possibility of attracting more freight volume for rail transport.
As Russian Railway President Oleg Belozerov underlined, “the potential of our cooperation is, by far, not used to its maximum. At the same time, Russian Railways and Railways of the I.R. of Iran gained common experience in the joint implementation of infrastructure projects: in 2012, Russian Railways (RZD) completed the electrification of the railway line Tabriz-Azarshahr.”
At this meeting in Tehran, the President of Iranian Railways addressed the possibility to create a direct railway link on the western part of the international “North-South corridor”. This project includes the construction of the Recht-Astara railway line that will connect railway networks of Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran. The new infrastructure will accelerate the transport of goods between the countries of Europe, the Persian Gulf and South Asia.
RZD and RAI also discussed the conditions for the realisation of an electrification project for the Garmsar-Ince Burun railway line, a line with 495 km, 203 km being located in mountains. The modernisation of this infrastructure will increase capacity and speed in train operations.
During the opening ceremony of the UIC/ITE international Oil, Rail & Port Conference, a cooperation agreement was signed between RZD President Mr Oleg Belozerov and RAI President, Vice Minister Dr Mohsen Pour Seyed Aghaie. Objectives are the enhancement of cooperation on joint projects, as well as the cooperation to attract more freight volume to the international “North-South” transport corridor.
(Source: JSC Russian Railways, RZD)
