Page 43 - IRANRptOct19

trip train service between Tehran and Istanbul, Mehr News Agency reported on August 27. ​The announcement follows the recent​ ​relaunching of the Tehran-Ankara train​, ​which was suspended for four years after an explosion on the line allegedly caused by PKK Kurdish militants. Seen as a low-cost way to get between the neighbouring countries, the route remains popular with those looking for an affordable vacation.
Saeed Rasuli, ​director of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways​ (​ RAI), said negotiations had begun with State Railways of the Republic of Turkey (TCDD) on launching the Istanbul-Tehran route.
Rasuli added that the two sides had long planned to connect the Iranian capital with Turkey’s biggest city and cultural and commercial capital, but issues including security and economic sanctions had pushed the project on to the backburner.
Iran’s railways have undergone substantial expansion in recent years, including investment in connections with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. The use of Iranian rail knowhow in connecting the region may conceivably contribute to developing China’s huge Belt and Road trade transport infrastructure initiative and the​ ​International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) which aims to ease the passage of goods travelling routes between the west coast of India and northern Russia and northern Europe, via Iran and Azerbaijan.
Iran on August 24 launched a large cargo ship referred to as the “Grand Ferry” that will sail a route from Iran’s southern port of Bandar Bushehr to Hamad Port in Doha, Qatar, the ​Financial Tribune d​ aily reported. Qatar has boosted business and political relations with Iran and Turkey over the past 18 months since the onset of an air, land and sea blockade of the country mounted by Saudi-led Arab states as part of a political row. For instance, several dozen​ ​Iranian and Turkish consumer brands​ ​have flooded the Qatari market to make up for goods unobtainable due to the Arab boycott. According to the director general of the Ports and Maritime Directorate of Bushehr Province, Siavash Arjmandzadeh, the shipping service will provide cargo transportation for goods on pallets and in various types of containers, including refrigerated ones.
“Given the high costs of air transport, the Grand Ferry will facilitate transportation and open a new horizon for trade ties between Iran and Qatar,” Arjmandzadeh was quoted as saying.
Turkmenistan and Iran have struck an agreement to establish a direct Caspian Sea shipping line between the two countries, ISNA reported on August 20.
Iran increasingly uses the Caspian Sea as the main transit option for connecting with its northern neighbours. A​ ​new ferry service​ ​between the Russian city of Derbent in Dagestan in the North Caucasus and Iran’s Bandar Anzali was, for example, announced lately.
Iranian Transport and Urban Development Minister Mohammad Eslami said the agreement with Turkmenistan was reached recently at the​ ​Caspian Sea Economic Forum​ h​ eld in the Turkmen city of Turkmenbashi. He added that the agreement and some others would be officially enacted at the end of the Iranian month of Mehr (October 22) during a meeting in Ashgabat.
The forum also heard Iran object to Turkmenistan’s plan to create a Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline on “ecological grounds”.
If via Azerbaijani and Georgian links Turkmenistan was connected to the Trans Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP)​ that reaches the Greek border through Turkey, the Turkmen would open up a route to exporting gas to European
43​ IRAN Country Report​ October 2019 www.intellinews.com