Cost
$1.6b
$1,600,000,000
Capacity
15m
Tons
Cargo
Per Year
Objective
Bridge the missing rail link in the Western INSTC, facilitating faster rail transport from Russia to the Indian Ocean via Iran. Description
The Rasht–Astara railway project is a critical 165-km missing link in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), designed to connect Russia, Iran, and Azerbaijan History
The Soviet Union had extended its own railway network to Astara, Azerbaijan, in 1941, reaching the Iranian border. But within Iran, the crucial stretch from Astara to Qazvin remained incomplete.