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Saturday, November 8, 2008
Russia may push Iran-Armenia rail link
Construction of a rail link to Iran is likely to be pushed forward
with Russian backing.
At a meeting in Sochi in September, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
discussed the project with his Armenian counterpart Serch Sarkissjan
as part of a cooperation agreement between the two countries.
The Russian Rialways (RZD) subsidiary South Caucasus Railway took over
the operation of the Armenian rail network on June 1 under a 25-year
concession, but Armenia’s only active international rail link runs via
Georgia, as the lines to Turkey and Azerbaijan are out of use.
Initial proposals for a line into Iran were first floated in 2006, and
feasibility studies for three possible alignments are currently
underway. One would start from Eraskh on the line to Ararat, one from
the current terminus at Vardenis and the other from Gagarin, to the
northeast of Yerevan.
The link would require around 80 km of new construction in
northwestern Iran, running from the Armenian border on the Aras River
to Marand on Tabriz-Djolfa line.
According to Armenian Minister of Transport and Communications Gurgen
Sargsyan, the line is expected to cost around 2 billion U.S. dollars.
Iran and Armenia have agreed to set up a working group, in which the
Russians may be invited to participate.
(Source: railwaygazette.com)