Iran’s transport minister has announced that the country will soon finalise a contract with China for a high-speed railway project connecting the capital, Tehran, to Mashhad, the country’s second-largest city.

On Tuesday, Farzaneh Sadegh announced that the Chinese investor of the project would sign the contract with the Iranian government during President Masoud Pezeshkian’s visit to Beijing next week.

Ms Sadegh said that the Iranian government is determined to reduce journey times on the 900-kilometre route between Tehran and Mashhad, one of the busiest railway connections in West Asia, which accommodates tens of millions of pilgrims each year.

Mashhad, a city of 3.5 million people in north-east Iran, is home to the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS), the eighth Shia Imam. It is also located on the Sarakhs–Razi corridor, a key east–west cargo transit route that plays a significant role in transporting cargo to and from the Central Asian region via Iran.

In July, Iran’s railway chief announced plans to electrify almost 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) of railway from Sarakhs to the western Razi border crossing with Iraq, with the assistance of a Chinese company.

Jabbar Ali Zakeri said that the project, which includes the addition of a second track in some sections of the railway, aims to triple rail freight transport on the corridor to 15 million metric tons per year.

Iran’s efforts to expand and modernise its east-west railway network are intended to increase the country’s revenues from cargo transit, particularly in relation to China’s One Belt, One Road project, which seeks to improve transport infrastructure linking China to Europe, Asia, and Africa.