Iran-China freight train was relaunched at Aprin dry port, in Eslamshahr county, southwest of Tehran city, on July 20th. Relaunching this train was simultaneous with launching first phase of the China-Europe rail corridor.

Speaking on the sidelines of the relaunching ceremony, the head of Iranian Railways (RAI) said the Iran-China freight train will travel from Iran to China after passing through Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, and from China to Iran.

The train carrying minerals left Tehran’s dry port for China today and about 10 days ago, the train carrying car parts left China, he explained.

“The China-Iran-Europe rail corridor has high security and will take less time than sea transport. In addition, using the China-Iran-Europe rail corridor will cost less for cargo owners,” the RAI chief added.

Speaking at the same ceremony, Fu Lihua, charge d’affaires of the Chinese embassy in Tehran, said bilateral cooperation between Iran and China has yielded good results in recent years.

The launch of this container train, which connects China with Central and West Asia, is a channel for the development of China-Iran cooperation and an opportunity for commercial, industrial and cultural cooperation between the two countries, she added.

“It is hoped that in the near future we will see the strengthening of cooperation between the two countries in the form of the “Belt and Road” initiative, the diplomat added.

In the near future, Iran will significantly increase the volume of cargo transported through neighbouring Turkmenistan. To do this, Iran will use the capacity of the China-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway. The total journey time of the trains is about two weeks.

The China-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran corridor could be the first logistics solution for the rapid delivery of goods from the east coast of China to the markets of the Persian Gulf.

During an international summit in Tajikistan in early June, Iran’s deputy minister of roads and urban development outlined the advantages of Iran for the transit of goods between China and Europe.

Source: Tehrantimes