First cargo train from India to Russia to cross Azerbaijan’s territory
By Fatma Babayeva
The first cargo train from India to Russia passing across the territory of Azerbaijan will be launched in late August 2016 as part of the North-South Project.
Javid Gurbanov, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Railways CJSC, made the statement while talking to reporters in Baku on June 9.
Gurbanov noted that the freight train will take off from India's Mumbai city, then it will be transported by ferry to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas in late August and then head to Iran's Rasht city by rail..
The goods will be transshipped to trucks in Rasht city and delivered to Azerbaijan's Astara city, said Gurbanov, further adding that then the cargo will be delivered to Moscow by railway from Astara city.
This multimodal transportation will be carried out together with the railways of Azerbaijan and Russia, he emphasized.
Previously, the agreement on the North-South International Transport Corridor was signed among Russia, Iran and India in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on September 12, 2000. Azerbaijan joined the agreement in September 2005.
The Transport Corridor will link Northern Europe and South-East Asia and serve as a bridge to connect the railways of Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia.
The corridor is planned to transport 5 million tons of cargo a year in the first phase and over 10 million tons of cargo in the future.
Gurbanov also underlined that two cargo trains, which will become part of the international railway project 'Viking', will be sent to the Georgian port of Poti from China through the territory of Azerbaijan in late July - early August 2016.
DHL, major logistics company will be involved in cargo transportation, he added.
Two trains will be sent from China to Kazakhstan's Dostyk station in late July-early August 2016, said Gurbanov by emphasizing that from there, the trains will arrive in the Georgian port Poti via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, that is, across the sea and the territory of Azerbaijan.
Earlier in April, Azerbaijan Railways agreed with railway agencies of Georgia and Kazakhstan to create the International Trans-Caspian Transport Consortium.
In Poti, the cargo will be distributed according to its destination, said Chairman, adding that some part of the cargo will be sent to the Baltic countries within the route of international railway project 'Viking'.
The piggyback 'Viking' train project was launched in 2003. Members of the project include Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia and Bulgaria. Later, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey joined the project. The total length of the Ilyichevsk (Ukraine)-Minsk (Belarus)-Draugyste (Lithuania) route is 1,766 kilometers.
In February 2016, Ukraine and Lithuania signed a memorandum on the accession of the container train 'Viking' to the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route from Europe to China through Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
Azerbaijani government attaches great importance to increasing its transport potential as part of diversifying its economy.
Azerbaijan has invested $25 billion in the development of its transport sector, Abid Sharifov, the country's deputy prime minister said at the 44th ministerial session of the Organization for Cooperation between Railways (OSJD) held in Baku on June 9.
More than 10,000 kilometers of roads were constructed in Azerbaijan, according to Sharifov.
Furthermore, five international airports have been built over the past five years and the fleet of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) has fully renovated.
All these projects contribute to the increasing role of Azerbaijan as a transit country between East and West, as well as North and South by providing alternatives to the existing transport routes.
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Fatma Babayeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Fatma_Babayeva
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