In the beginning of 2000, Russia, Iran and India signed an agreement in St. Petersburg laying out a vision for a North-South Transport Corridor. The corridor stretches from ports in India across the Arabian Sea to the southern Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, where goods then transit Iran and the Caspian Sea to ports in Russia’s sector of the Caspian Sea. From there, the route stretches along the Volga River via Moscow to northern Europe.
Initially, Russia and Iran have expressed their intention to massively invest in road infrastructure, so port and railway infrastructures seemed be granted less attention, at least in the beginning. However, the well-known benefits of railway transport, from the environmental, financial and commercial point of view, have been strong enough arguments to initiate the modernisation of railways along the Corridor and event to build new rails, where segments lacked, for example between Azerbaijan and Iran. While political and economic challenges remain in the development of an overarching North-South Transport Corridor, important bilateral trade and transport agreements have been signed in tandem with the official North-South project. Iran sees itself playing a particularly active role in forging trade and market links with Central Asia. Countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and even Afghanistan have expressed their interest in developing this corridor in railway-related activities. The operation of the North-South corridor leads to considerable reduction of transit time and increasing volume for freight transportation, according to Iranian Railways (RAI), from the currently 45-60 days to 25-30 days. Recently, in October 2010, during the 1520 Forum held in Baku (Azerbaijan), agreements were signed on the initiation of railway constructions for the single missing link along the North-South Corridor, the 375-km long Qazvin – Astara -Rasht route. The longest segment, measuring 300 km, is located on Iran’s territory. According to technical and economic data, the capacity of the new line Rasht (Iran) – Astara (Azerbaijan) could reach 9 million tonnes in 2015 and over 19 million tonnes by 2030. Total investments in the construction of this line are estimated at USD 408 Million. According to the Vice President of the company Vadim Morozov, RZD declared itself ready to participate in implementing the project of the international transport Corridor North – South in 2008. “Within the framework of the implementation of the railway route of the North – South Corridor, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran began building along the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea a railway line Uzen-Gorgan that will replace the existing longer route to Iran,” Morozov said. “The construction of the given route will make it possible for the first time in history to create a railway bridge about 4,500 kilometres long from St. Petersburg to the port of Bandar Abbas (Iran) in the Persian Gulf and connect by a shorter way North-Western and Central Europe with countries of the Middle East and South Asia”, Morozov stressed. This route will be used for organizing international container freight transport, and, according to experts, the market is estimated at 16 – 17 million tonnes. What are, in fact, the advantages of developing the route along the Caspian Sea coast? These advantages have been highlighted by the International Union of Railways (UIC) through a feasibility study developed in 2008 showing that the route is the most viable on the long-term. The less countries are involved, the better as it involves easier agreements and border crossings. Distance along the Western coast of the Caspian Sea is shorter. The proposed route shows particular attention to the development of railway transport, for example, by building Qazvin – Astara – Rasht missing segment. Also, there are alternative routes of back-up sections in case the main segment fails (maritime transport through the Caspian Sea or railway transport through Azerbaijan). The route is recommended by organisations such as UNO and railway organisations such as Russian Railways (RZD), Iranian Railways (RAI) or Indian Railways (IR).
by Elena Ilie
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