Russia and Pakistan are putting more freight on the rails. The two countries will be sending goods to one another via a direct rail connection, starting in April. This initiative likely pertains to an earlier announcement for a direct freight route along the International North – South Transport Corridor (INSTC), but another route is also in the works.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk commented on the matter after a meeting with Pakistani Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb. “The Pakistani finance minister and I have discussed our bilateral agenda, including energy cooperation. We are looking forward to the project, the first train to travel from Russia to Pakistan” Overchuk said. “Our countries have never had bilateral rail service before, but we have reached an agreement and will start the trial run.”
The first train should depart in April. It will carry containers, but Overchuk did not enter into further detail on the goods to be transported.
INSTC transport
In December 2024, Russia and Pakistan announced plans for a direct rail freight connection along the INSTC, meaning through Azerbaijan and Iran. At the time, they aimed for a March 2025 launch of the service. Whereas Overchuk mentioned no details on the route of the new rail connection, the train to be launched in April and the INSTC connection are likely the same initiative.
Meanwhile, the two countries organised a trial run for a Pakistan – Central Asia – Russia freight route in mid-March. Pakistani media wrote that textiles, food products and agricultural produce such as rice, wheat and cotton would be making their way onto the Russian and Central Asian markets. In the opposite direction, Russian oil, gas, steel and other industrial goods would be transported to Pakistan.
Pakistani terminals
The Pakistani state rail freight operator, PRFTC, said that that freight service would operate from the Qasim International Container Terminal and the Pakistan International Container Terminal. It offers transportation for 22-tonne and 44-tonne containers.
There is also an interest from the Russian side in going even beyond Pakistan. “Of course, we are interested in extending rail service and connecting to India. This is another issue we are talking about,” Overchuk said. Earlier, India and Russia started using the INSTC for coal transportation, but it evades Pakistan by ship between Iran and India.