The train will cross the territory of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to the port of Iran and then to India
The first container train in the North-South corridor has been dispatched from the Chelyabinsk-Gruzovoy station, according to the Telegram channel of Russian Railways.
The train consisting of 31 container platforms with containers will cross the territory of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to the port of Iran from where it will go to India by sea.
The train carries export non-ferrous metal and food products. The service operator is RZD-Logistics JSC.
A special route schedule is developed for the train to speed up the delivery.
North-South international transport corridor (ITC) is a 7,200-kilometre-long transport artery from St Petersburg to ports in Iran and India. North-South ITC has a western and an eastern branch, both running across Iran. The western one foresees cargo transportation by road via Rasht, the eastern one – by railway. The end point in Iran is the port of Bandar Abbas from which cargo can be delivered to India by sea. The western branch also crosses Azerbaijan, the eastern one – Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Besides, direct water transportation from Russia to Iran by the Caspian Sea is possible.
The volume of Russian cargo transported by the North-South ITC is expected to double by 2030, from the current 17 million tonnes to 32 million tonnes.