The Pakistan government on Tuesday launched the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul freight train project to promote economic activity in the region, especially among the member states of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO). The service was launched from Margalla Railway Station.
The ITI freight train service will play a significant role in lifting economies as well as the living standards of citizens of the member states of ECO by taking full advantage of economic efficiency and reducing the cost of doing business, according to the Ministry of Railways.
Two freight forwarders, Haroon Brothers and Maxtelz Logistics, carried out the trade in the first cargo trade. The train is taking pink salt and dates apart from other cargo for Turkey.
In the first phase of the project, wagoned trains would carry the foreign trading followed by containerized trains in the second phase, said the Pakistan Railways.
Government officials including Federal Minister for Railways Azam Khan Swati, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce Razak Dawood inaugurated the train service from Margalla Railway Station, as a shipment of freight train left for Istanbul via Tehran.
Ambassadors of Iran, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan also graced the inauguration ceremony with their presence, according to the official statement.
Azam Khan Swati, Minister for Railways, emphasized the importance of the ITI freight train, saying that this facility will open the doors for business and connectivity along the region. He further stated that passenger service will also start soon.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi lauded the recommencement of the ITI freight train service and said that the service will play a vital role in regional connectivity and promotion of economic activity in the region.
Advisor Commerce Razak Dawood expressed his pleasure at the resumption of ITI service after nine years and said Regional Connectivity is one of the very important pillars of our Strategic Trade Policy Framework. “We’ve already initiated regional trade through trucks under TIR. Trucking is ongoing but the real potential is through Railways, which is more economical,” the adviser added.
Turkish Ambassador Mustafa Yurdakul expressed the hope that the train service would not stop at Istanbul only but go all the way to Europe which would benefit all regional countries as the economies bounced back in the post-COVID era.
ITI freight train will be operated regularly on Tuesday of every week. The first freight train had 13 wagons initially. But the train has the capacity to carry 20 containers of 20 feet.
The current train service will go from Islamabad (Pakistan) to Zahedan (Iran) from where the Turkish train will lift and transport the goods to Istanbul (Turkey). Pakistani railway track gauge is narrower than standard which is why the service will depend on Turkish trains from Zahedan station onwards.
The train will complete one side of the trip in 12 days and will go a long way in facilitating the movement of goods between Pakistan, Iran and Turkey.
Rail route
The total length of the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul rail route is 6656 km.
Iran: 2600 km
Turkey: 1950 km
Pakistan: 1990 km
Key facts
· Total length: 6656 km
· Cargos: 20 containers of 40 feet
· Estimated travel time is 12 days as compared to 30-40 days via sea
· It is the shortest land route connecting South Asia with Europe