"The Iranian Ministry of Transport has asked us to accede to the Persian Gulf - Black Sea international agreement. This initiative is important for development of the India-Iran-Black Sea transport corridor, and it will attract additional cargo to the Trans-Caspian route," Dovhan wrote.
According to him, in this context, Iran is negotiating with Azerbaijan and Georgia on two temporary cargo routes, which will remain in use until the construction of the Kazvin-Resht-Astara railway is completed in Iran. "1. Connection of Iranian and Azeri Astara with the help of a railway, and this process was completed in the first quarter of 2017. In this case, goods are transported from Bandar Abbas (an Iranian port in the Persian Gulf) to the city of Kazvin by rail. Further, they will be transported to Astara by trucks and subsequently on Azerbaijani railways. 2. Transportation of cargo through the Iranian ports of Amirabad and Anzali in the Caspian Sea by ferries to the port of Alyat/Baku and from there by rail to Georgia. "
As reported, in recent days, a debate has flared between the Ukrainian Railways public joint-stock company (Ukrzaliznytsia) and the Ministry of Infrastructure on whether the test train to Iran that the minister of infrastructure recently announced will be able to deliver goods to the country. Ukrzaliznytsia’s Board Chairman Wojciech Balczun doubted the possibility of launching such a train, saying, "this is now to Ukrzaliznytsia’s experts" because "rail transportation is possible from Batumi only to Astara" and "the distance to the nearest Iranian railway station of Rasht is 160 kilometers.”
In response, the Ministry of Infrastructure said that the test train from Ukraine to Iran would depart from the Chornomorsk seaport and that its final destination would be the port of Anzali, which is located on the Caspian Sea in northern Iran. That is, it is not expected to pass through the territory of Iran.
