Iran, Turkmenistan Sign Deal to Build New Railway Lines
Talking to reporters after a meeting with Turkmenistan’s Minister of Railways Mammet Akmammedov, Iranian Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development Jabbar Ali Zakeri announced that Iran and Turkmenistan agreed to construct two new railway lines at the Sarakhs border crossing to enhance freight transport between the two countries.
The agreement was reached during bilateral meetings in Turkmenbashi, held on the sidelines of the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries.
Zakeri stated that the project will include the construction of one standard-gauge and one broad-gauge line connecting the Sarakhs stations on both sides of the border.
He underlined the significance of expanding rail infrastructure to improve regional connectivity and noted that technical discussions between the two countries’ rail administrations would follow shortly.
The Sarakhs crossing is a critical transit hub linking Iran to Central Asia and forms part of the International North-South Transport Corridor, aimed at facilitating trade between Asia and Europe.
Iran has also signed several gas swap agreements with Turkmenistan in recent years to supply the equivalent of natural gas it imports from the country to Azerbaijan and Iraq.
The swap deals boost Iran’s ability to increase its supply of natural gas to its national grid customers in the northeast of the country, where key population and industry centers are located.
Iran also imports nearly 2 billion kilowatt hours of electricity from Turkmenistan every year to respond to rising demand for power in its northeast.
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