Qazvin-Rasht-Astara railway essential for goods transportation
By Aynur Jafarova
The rapid completion of the Qazvin-Rasht-Astara (Iran)-Astara (Azerbaijan) railway construction is essential not only for Iran and Azerbaijan, but also for the transportation of goods from the Gulf region to the Scandinavian countries.
The remarks were made by at a meeting between Azerbaijani ambassador to Iran Javanshir Akhundov and Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia and Oceania Ebrahim Rahimpur, Trend Agency reported on March 4.
At the meeting, the parties highlighted the important role of this railway in the future economic development of the region, and discussed issues concerning further development of bilateral relations in political, economic, and cultural fields.
The parties also said high-level mutual visits will contribute to the development of relations between Azerbaijan and Iran, and exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest.
The Astara-Qazvin-Rasht railway is 205 kilometers long, while the length of the Qazvin-Rasht railway section is 164 kilometers.
Eighty-two bridges with a total length of nine kilometers and 53 tunnels with a total length of 22 kilometers will be built within the framework of the Astara-Qazvin-Rasht railway project.
The creation of a direct railway communication along the western coast of the Caspian Sea can contribute to the growth of the transportation market in the region, and become a good motivation for the expansion of foreign economic relations between regional states and European countries.
Iran and Azerbaijan have had diplomatic relations since 1918. Iran recognized Azerbaijan's independence in 1991, and diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1992.