The Hindu : National : India to help Iran build a crucial rail link

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India to help Iran build a crucial rail link

Special Correspondent

Project to be on BOT basis

To help develop the Chabahar port
Also assist launch of Middle East Railway

NEW DELHI: India has agreed to help Iran in constructing a crucial rail link that is also a part of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)’s Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) project. “We will be cooperating with the Iranian authorities in developing the 600-km long Chabahar port and Fahraj rail line that will provide India a multi-modal transport corridor to Russia via Iran,” said Railway Board Chairman K.C. Jena.

Mr. Jena, also the Chairman of the Union of International Railway (UIC), was recently in Iran where he met Iran’s Deputy Minister for Roads and Transportation and president of Iran’s national railway ‘Rah Ahan Iran’, Hassan Ziari.

“This week, a team of experts from the Indian Railways will be visiting Iran to work out the details and other modalities of the project that would be executed under the ‘build-operate-transfer’ (BOT) basis,” said Mr. Jena.

The Railway Board Chairman said the rail line was vital for the proposed North-South international corridor linking India, Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia.

The corridor envisaged a direct link to St. Petersburg from Fahraj port through Amirabad in Iran and Astrakhan in Russia.

“Since the Chabahar port is close to Gujarat, the Indian Railways can explore utilising the route for multimodal transport of goods to Iran and Russia. Similarly, transporting goods to Afghanistan via Fahraj could be another good option. It will also provide direct access to Europe,” he said.

Mr. Jena said the next UIC meeting would be held in Seoul next month and by that time the three countries were likely to sign an agreement on this project.

India was keen on this project as the direct India-Iran rail link was pending for long because of the 545 km-long missing railway line between Iran and Pakistan.

Stating that India had also decided to help Iran develop the Chabahar port and Aprin dry port, Mr. Jena said leading Indian consultancy firms including RITES Ltd. and CONCOR were likely to carry out feasibility reports for integrated planning for development of these ports and rail links. Iran had also sought help in laying track, upgrading its train operations, signalling system and electrical work. “India will also help in the launch of the Middle East Railway Academy in Iran under the aegis of the UIC,” he said.

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