Trend:
Over 4.7 million tons of cargo were transported along the International North-South Transport Corridor for the three quarters of 2017, which is 21.6 percent more than in the same period last year, the Azerbaijan Railways CJSC said in a message Oct. 20.
Heads of railway companies of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Iran and Russia made the remarks at the 67th meeting of the Railway Transport Council of the CIS and Baltic countries in Riga.
Javid Gurbanov, Vladimir Morozov, Saeed Mohammadzadeh and Oleg Belozerov discussed prospects for the development of the International North-South Transport Corridor, construction of a section of the Rasht-Astara railway and other issues.
“During the meeting, it was noted that cargo transportations along the International North-South Transport Corridor for the first nine months of 2017 increased by 21.6 percent and exceeded 4.7 million tons,” the message said. “Compared to the previous year, the volume of container transportations grew 2.4 times. Over 7,000 containers were transported along the corridor.”
It is noted that the parties have reached an agreement to establish a working group for the development of the International North-South Transport Corridor and signed the appropriate protocol.
“In the opinion of the meeting participants, it is necessary to direct attention of logistics companies to the creation of permanent transport services and the application of tariffs which suit all the sides, as well as to carry out work to simplify customs clearance procedures in order to support the growth trend along the International North-South Transport Corridor,” the message noted.
The sides also noted the importance of creating mutual ties between the participants of the logistics chain (railways, ports, carriers, customs services).
“The sides agreed that the acceleration and reduction in the cost of cargo transportations between the countries of Europe, South Asia, the Persian Gulf, Belarus and Russia are related to the creation of a direct rail service,” the message said. “It is necessary to finish and commission the missing section of the corridor, the Rasht-Astara railway for that.”
The International North-South Transport Corridor is meant to connect Northern Europe with Southeast Asia. It will serve as a link connecting the railways of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia.
The corridor is planned to transport 5 million tons of cargo per year at the initial stage and over 10 million tons of cargo in the future.
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