The construction of the Resht-Astara railway is a necessity for both the North-South and Middle corridors, as it would facilitate the transportation of goods and people between Azerbaijan and Iran

To date, there is no other project that has been stalled recently, but today would undoubtedly prove to be a significant challenge, akin to the Resht-Astara railway. This section effectively 'closes' two corridors simultaneously. The first is the North-South Transport Corridor, a collaborative endeavour between the Russian Federation, Azerbaijan, Iran and India. This initiative will markedly accelerate the exchange of goods within Eurasia, facilitating the movement of goods by rail from the Indian Ocean to the Baltic Sea via Iran, Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation in a mere 8-10 days.

The Resht-Astara road will serve to duplicate the ferry crossings across the Caspian Sea, thereby enabling the transportation of cargo from Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan through Iran to Azerbaijan by railway. This will effectively encompass the Caspian Sea from the south. The avoidance of the necessity to transport across the Caspian by ferry could serve to further accelerate transit along the middle corridor.

Russia is demonstrating an increasing level of interest in the Resht-Astara railway line

The North-South corridor through Azerbaijan and Iran is experiencing a surge in demand. Presently, the volumes of freight traffic and cargo transit between Iran and Azerbaijan are increasing at a faster rate. The majority of their cargo, including transit cargo, is transported via the border crossings, which are located in the city of Astara. Due to the city's geographical location, which is divided by the border into two parts, road and railway access is limited. With the assistance of Azerbaijan, a railway border crossing to Astara on the Iranian side of the border has already been constructed.

The total volume of rail freight traffic between Azerbaijan and Iran in 2023 increased by 47%, reaching a total of over 700,000 tonnes. Transit freight traffic increased by a factor of 1.6. In Astara, situated within the territory of Iran, cargoes arriving by rail must be transloaded for onward transportation by road. This results in a reduction in the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the transportation process. This situation is particularly disadvantageous for Russia, for which the North-South transit corridor is of significant strategic importance.

The Iranian Ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, recently held a meeting with Igor Levitin, a Russian Presidential Aide. The implementation of the Resht-Astara railway project and the North-South corridor were among the matters discussed by the parties. Furthermore, Igor Levitin indicated his willingness to travel to Tehran for discussions with the recently appointed members of the Iranian cabinet. He underscored that the primary objective of his visit to Iran is to facilitate economic initiatives within the context of bilateral relations.

Moscow is exerting considerable pressure on Tehran to expedite the completion of the Resht-Astara railway. The project of an 'alternative' railway through Armenia, which would have entailed significant additional costs compared to the Resht-Astara railway, has now been superseded by other considerations. In light of the current trajectory of deteriorating relations between Armenia and Russia, it is unlikely to be feasible in practice.

The construction of the Resht-Astara railway has recently experienced a notable deceleration. This raises the question of whether this is due to objective difficulties or the potential influence of external factors, such as sabotage

The North-South International Transport Corridor is a multimodal route from St. Petersburg to the port of Mumbai (India). The length of the corridor exceeds 7,000 kilometres. The North-South International Transport Corridor comprises three routes: the trans-Caspian route, which utilises railways and ports; and the overland western and eastern routes.

The western route, which traverses the Russian Federation, Azerbaijan and Iran, is currently the most expedient and cost-effective option for Russia. As part of this route, the Resht-Astara railway will facilitate the interconnection of the land sections of the western route of the international transport corridor, designated 'North-South'. It has already been agreed in principle that the construction of the railway will be undertaken with the participation of Moscow and Tehran, as well as the line connecting the Iranian and Azerbaijani cities of Astara, which will be constructed with the participation of Moscow, Tehran and Baku.

It is anticipated that the Resht-Astara railway will become fully operational by the end of 2027. Accordingly, preliminary forecasts indicate that by the end of 2030, the freight turnover along the western branch of the North-South transport corridor will reach 15 million tonnes per year, with an anticipated increase to 60 million tonnes per year in the future. Russia, in collaboration with Iran and Azerbaijan, is engaged in the construction of a direct border section of the railway, extending from the Iranian city of Astara to the Azerbaijani city of the same name.

In May 2023, Russia and Iran signed documents to complete the last necessary section of the railway of the western North-South route, from Resht to Astara in Iran, for €1.6bn. Of these funds, €1.3bn is a loan from the Russian Federation and the rest is funds from the Iranian side.

Meanwhile, Iran has been stalling the construction of the Resht-Astara railway for almost a year, despite Russia's persistent calls to speed it up. Construction work on the Resht-Astara section did not take place throughout 2023, although there was nothing to prevent it. It was not until December 2023 that Iran's Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development Shahriyar Afandizadeh announced that construction of the railway connecting Resht to Astara in Gilan province would begin in early 2024. However, construction work did not begin until the summer of 2024.
Iranian authorities are reluctant to pursue the Resht-Astara railway project, thereby precluding Russia from assisting in its implementation.

Alexei Sapetko, Director of the Department of International Cooperation of the Russian Ministry of Transport, states that the visit of Russian parliamentarians, headed by Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the State Duma, to Iran was the catalyst for progress on the issue of land allocation for the construction of the Resht-Astara railway, which had previously stalled. Despite this, Russia has agreed to provide any necessary assistance, including financial assistance, to accelerate the construction process.

The Iranian side initially indicated its willingness to allocate less than 20% of the future track for geodetic, design, and survey work. The Iranian side has thus far allocated less than 20 per cent of the entire 158-kilometre route for pre-project work, including geodesy, measurements, design, and field work. This equates to approximately 30 kilometres. "This is insufficient, therefore we are still at the preliminary stage," stated Alexey Sapetko, commenting on the status of the Resht-Astara railway construction.

It is not possible to sign a contract until the geodesy, design and research work has been completed. The contract must include a multitude of technical parameters that are yet to be defined. It is not possible to determine the precise alignment at this stage, as this will be dependent on the sections provided by the Iranian partners. These sections will be subject to adjustment in order to accommodate the specifics of the alignment.

Resht-Astara road connects corridors

Meanwhile, the eastern route of the North-South Corridor is already in operation. This is the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway, which has two branches. The older branch of the railway enters the Iranian network at the Tejen-Serakhs border crossing. The new branch traversed Bolashak station (serving as a direct link between western Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan), which was inaugurated in 2014, and subsequently entered the Iranian Republic via the Etrek-Gorgan border crossing. Additionally, the distance between China and Iran via Kazakhstan will be reduced by 500 kilometres. The export of grain from Kazakhstan along the eastern route of the North-South Corridor has already been accomplished, both to Iran and to countries in the Persian Gulf region.

Similarly, the western route of the North-South corridor could also be extended in two directions. In addition to the shortest Resht-Astara route, it would be feasible to construct a second branch. To achieve this, it is necessary to restore the railway through the Zangezur corridor and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan to the Iranian province of East Azerbaijan.

In this scenario, the Resht-Astara railway will serve as a connection between the western route of the North-South corridor and the middle corridor. The proposed railway will permit the routing of goods trains around the Caspian Sea via the Serakhs-Tehran-Kazvin-Resht-Astara and Gorgan-Tehran-Kazvin-Resht-Astara routes.

Vladimir Tskhvediani
Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Strategic Partnership Information Support Centre

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