Iran’s Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development, CEO of the Iranian Railway Company Jabbār Ali Zakeri, announced an agreement with Turkmen Railways to build two new railway lines between the two countries, Iranian media reported on Tuesday.
The meeting between the heads of the transport authorities of Turkmenistan and Iran took place on the sidelines of the Third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries in Awaza. As a result of these talks, an agreement was reached to construct two new railway lines between Serakhs station (Turkmenistan) and Sarakhs station (Iran).
The new project aims to speed up cargo processing and increase the throughput capacity of the border crossing, which is a key hub along the route.
According to the agreements reached, one of the new lines will operate on the standard European gauge (in Iran), while the other will use the broad gauge applied in Turkmenistan. This will ensure uninterrupted cargo transit without the need for transshipment at the border. As a result, the existing “bottleneck” problem at the crossing will be eliminated, significantly reducing waiting times and logistics costs.
Turkmen Railways has also agreed to expand its freight fleet by acquiring 200–300 wagons from Uzbekistan. Combined with the track expansion, this measure will help increase the throughput capacity of export and transit cargo on shared routes.
In the near future, the parties will hold meetings of technical experts to finalize project details, set deadlines, and determine budgets and financing. The successful implementation of the agreement is expected to play an important role in the development of the “North–South” and “East–West” regional transit corridors.
Source of information: Orient
