Russia and Iran have signed new documents to allow engineering surveys along the full route of the Rasht-Astara railway, a long-delayed link between the two countries’ rail networks.
Caspian Services, the Russian contractor, and Iran’s CDTIC signed a protocol granting access to land along the route, alongside a supplementary agreement to the existing contract, in Tehran.
Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Nikitin said the land had been handed over, allowing advance engineering surveys to continue and extending the time available for the necessary work.
Specialists from Russia have already established a geodetic control network and carried out aerial photography this year, he said. Hydrometeorological surveys and topographic mapping are now under way along the route.
The 162-kilometre railway line would connect the Russian and Iranian railway systems. It forms part of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a route intended to carry freight to the Persian Gulf and South Asia.
The agreement follows a statement on 19 October by another Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Alexey Overchuk, who said Iran had completed its acquisition of the land needed for construction. He added that Moscow was still waiting for documentary confirmation.
The project has repeatedly run behind schedule. In September, Iran’s ambassador to Moscow, Kazem Jalali, said a Russian contractor had carried out surveys on the Rasht-Astara section.
He had earlier said implementation had been delayed because of Iran’s military conflict with the U.S. and Israel. The executive contract had originally been due to be signed on 1 April.
The railway is seen as the missing piece of the North-South corridor, which is designed to give Russia an alternative trade route towards the Persian Gulf and South Asia. Rasht is in northern Iran, while Astara lies on the border with Azerbaijan, where an existing line already connects with Russia’s network.
Neither side has said when construction might begin or when the line could be completed.
Separately, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Thursday (6 November). The two discussed regional security, the war with the U.S. and bilateral cooperation. They also discussed plans for a gas pipeline from Russia to Iran.
It's also reported that Rezaei delivered a message from the country's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei to Putin, Iranian state media said on Thursday, without elaborating on the content of the message.
On a possible deal with Washington, Rezaei said Tehran had presented seven conditions to the United States. He added that Iran would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz or resume negotiations until Washington met them.
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