Via Tasnim News, an update on the rail connection between the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea:

The managing director of Iran’s Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructures Company (CDTIC) said the Persian Gulf will be connected to the Caspian Sea via rail within the next two months.

Kheirollah Khademi announced this on Sunday, adding that the construction operation of the substructure of the Rasht-Caspian Railway will be completed within the next two months.

The Persian Gulf will be connected to the Caspian Sea via rail by the Iranian month of Tir (June 22-July 22), Khademi stated.

The connection of the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via rail is the main aim behind the North-South Rail Transport Corridor. This objective will be realized with the inauguration of the Rasht-Astara Railway, he noted.

The deputy roads minister added that the Rasht-Caspian Railway is under construction with significant physical progress.

Once the Rasht-Caspian Railway is put into operation, the possibility for rail transit will be provided from the Russian Federation to southern Iran, he concluded.

In the meantime, Iran’s Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazarpash and Russian President Aide Igor Levitin have discussed plans to increase cargo transit volume via the Caspian Sea and through the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

Bazarpash and Levitin also discussed cooperation on railway projects that could facilitate transit through the INSTC.