Rasouli pointed to the recent visit to Armenia made by an Iranian delegation to negotiate cooperation on railways development, noting that the Jolfa railway with the capacity of transiting seven million tons per annum was abandoned before the start of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war between Azerbaijan Republic and Armenia, but following a peace agreement mediated by Iran and Russia between Baku and Yerevan, the railroad is on the verge of restarting work.
The deputy minister of road and urban development added that Rasht-Astara railway is not completed, but the Caspian–Black Sea Transit Corridor has been linked and trains enter Astara terminal from Republic of Azerbaijan .
The completion of the western part of the corridor will connect Iran to the Black Sea in Rusia via Jolfa, Nakhchivan, Armenia, and Georgia, he noted.
Rasouli expressed hope that construction of 1,062 kilometers of the railroad will help transit 130 million tons of commodities per year.
The Islamic Republic of Iran broke a new record last year, when the railway system could transit 50 million tons of goods, the official stipulated, noting that it is expected that the number will increase to 100 million tons per year within five years.
He went on to say that the private sector has succeeded in manufacturing and reconstructing 1,793 freight wagons and locomotives in the last two years.
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