At long last, the Iranian Rasht – Astara railway may finally start to see the light. Russia and Iran have reportedly agreed to begin building the last missing piece of the western branch of the International North – South Transport Corridor (INSTC). Works are supposed to start after March 2025.
The presidents of the two countries agreed to sign a document confirming the decision to start building the line, according to Russian media. The countries’ respective transport ministers are in weekly contact on the progress made, and a final agreement is supposed to be signed by the end of March 2025.
“The parties agreed to sign an agreement on the implementation of the Rasht – Astara railway construction project by the end of March 2025. After that, the Russian side will begin construction work”, said Iran’s ambassador in Moscow.
It has taken the two countries some time to reach this point of agreement. Moscow and Tehran long discussed the question of financing, and more recently, Russia accused Iran of making too slow progress in land surveying.
Financing
Earlier, it was reported in Iranian media that Russia would finance the majority of the line with over a billion euros. Whereas Russian media now are still mentioning the same figure – 1,3 billion euros to be precise – they speak of an intergovernmental loan, rather than direct funding. The total cost of the Rasht – Astara line is estimated at 1,6 billion euros.
The Rasht – Astara railway is the only missing piece of a hypothetical continuous rail line between Russia and Iran along the western coast of the Caspian Sea. If completed, trains from Central Russia could uninterruptedly make their way to the Indian Ocean ports of southern Iran, and vice versa.