The Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul railway which connects three main countries of Iran-Pakistan and Turkey was inaugurated on Tuesday after the gap of 10 years at a ceremony with the presence of Pakistani ministers and Ambassador of Iran Seyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini.
Urdu Daily ‘Dunya’ in its editorial said the revival of the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul freight train after the gap of ten years is a big achievement to enhance regional connectivity. It said that project was launched in 2009 to enhance trade between the three important countries of the region however it was halted due to some technical obstacles.
The paper hoped that cooperation between Iran, Pakistan and Turkey will continue to grow through this trade corridor. It said that it will help reducing the cost of the trade as trade through land is much cheaper than sea and air links.
‘Dunya’ said that ITI train is in the interest of all the three countries. The paper was of the view the ITI corridor would play a major role in promoting trade between Asia with Europe through land.
Another Urdu newspaper ‘Ausaf’ said that Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul railway project would enhance trade between important countries of the region.
It said all countries of the region especially the Central Asian states can use this corridor to send their exports to Europe without any difficulty in short period of time. The paper said that ITI corridor could prove to be the best trade route linking China with Europe.
Ausaf said that Pakistan needs to upgrade its rail track to make the project a success. It said that Iran, Pakistan and Turkey can take their ties to the maximum level through ITI corridor.
The editorial said that a passenger train should be launched on the route to enhance people to people contacts between Iran, Pakistan and Turkey.
It said that the ITI project should be promoted to stop the western states from black-mailing Pakistan.
English daily ‘Pakistan Today’ in its editorial said the freight service to Istanbul via Tehran left Islamabad railway station on Wednesday in a ceremony which was also attended by the Uzbak and Kazakh ambassadors, whose countries would find along the route, and thus able to benefit from the service.
The new rail link overlaps the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative, and though it does formally form a part of it, it clearly allows connectivity to all countries which can connect to one.
Pakistan Railways Minister Azam Swati said at the inauguration that a passenger service was on the cards. The paper said it is necessary that freight operation be run smoothly, with the traditional safety and punctuality which railways are known for the world over.
The ECO container train officially started operating in 2009 according to the tripartite agreement between Islamabad, Tehran and Ankara, and the first train left Islamabad for Turkey via Iran on August 14 of the same year (August 23, 2009).
The train continued to operate until December 2011. The Pakistani government signed a memorandum of understanding with the Turkish Railways in November 2013 to resume freight train traffic between the two countries with the aim of boosting trade.
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