Iran Press/ Iran news: The Head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railway Company, Miad Salehi, met with Sergey Pavlov, the First Deputy Managing Director of International Business Development and International Affairs at Russian Railways (RZD).
Salehi suggested that aside from partnering with Russia to launch the Rasht-Astara railway, the current capacity in Sarakhs County, located in the Razavi Khorasan province, should be utilized for freight transit until the Rasht-Astara railway is officially opened.
Freight transportation in Iran should be conducted as quickly as possible. Any delay in the shipment by rail could make the sea route a more appealing option, according to the head of the Iran Railway Company.
He suggested that Iran and Russia could lower freight transportation expenses and shipping duration by collaborating on rail transportation.
To minimize delays in Iran, he proposed announcing the specifications of goods before they departed from Russia.
According to the Minister of Economy of Russia, Sergey Pavlov, the 70% transit cooperation suggested by Iran is a small number. However, he deems Iran's proposed 700% figure as acceptable, which he has previously mentioned.
The agreement between Iran and Russia aims to achieve a transit volume of 50 million tons by 2030. However, only 8 million tons of Russian goods can currently transit through Iran.
Russia used to export 300 million tons of goods to Europe annually. Still, this figure will go through Türkiye and Iran. Russia estimates at least 50 million tons of goods will be exported through Iran, according to Kazem Jalali, Iran's ambassador to Russia.
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Iran, Russia sign Rasht-Astara railway agreement
