Turkey-Iran-Pakistan cargo train can complete journey in 14 days

A cargo train service between Pakistan, Turkey, and Iran relaunched yesterday following a 10-year hiatus can complete the journey between the three countries in about 14 days, much faster and less costly than the alternate sea route.

Read more: Pakistan, Iran, Turkey agree on restoration of trilateral rail link

The Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad (ITI) cargo train was started in 2009 but it was later suspended in 2011 due to several delays, according to Anadolu Agency.

Image: Anadolu Agency

Minister for Railways Azam Swati on Tuesday sent off the new ITI cargo with dozens of containers from Margallah station in Islamabad for Europe’s largest city.

It will cover 1,990 kilometres (1,235 miles) inside Pakistan before crossing through the Taftan border for a 2,603-kilometer (1,620 miles) stretch in Iran.

The train will travel some 1,850 kilometres (1,150 miles) in Turkey, passing through the capital Ankara before reaching its final stop in Istanbul, said Anadolu Agency.

Turkey, Pakistan, and Iran are founders of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), a 10-member regional cooperation bloc established in 1964 as the Regional Cooperation for Development and renamed ECO in 1985.

Image: Radio Pakistan

The decision to resume the ITI cargo train service was taken at a ministerial meeting of ECO member states in 2020.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi lauded the “historic” development as a step that will open new avenues for trade and business in the region and beyond.

Read more: First NLC truck with Pakistani goods reaches Turkey via Iran: adviser

Swati said that the cargo train would increase communications among the ECO countries to strengthen regional communications and trade.