The Armenian Reporter
In five years, Armenia, Iran to be connected by rail
lf this ambitious initiative materializes, Armenia could have a passage through the ports of the Persian Gulf
by Tatul Hakobyan
Published: Friday April 10, 2009
ive-years-armenia-iran-to-be-connected-by-rail
Armenia’s and Nagorno-Karabakh’s railways. The borders with Turkey and
Azerbaijan are closed. The only operating international rail link is
with Georgia. Armenian Reporter map / © 2009 Armenian Reporter
LLC
Yerevan – High-ranking officials from Armenia and Iran are giving
assurances that in five years’ time there will be a railroad linking
the two countries. According to preliminary calculations, the railroad
will stretch for approximately 470 kilometers, with 410 of those on
Armenian territory. The total cost of this undertaking is expected to
run about $1.2 billion.
An agreement will be signed by Armenia and Iran sometime this month
when President Serge Sargsian is expected to be in Tehran for an
official visit. On April 3 Armenia’s minister of transportation,
Gurgen Sargsian, and Iran’s transport and communications minister,
Hamid Behbahani, signed a memorandum of understanding in this regard.
Armenia, which is currently under blockade from the west by Turkey and
from the east by Azerbaijan, had a rail link with Iran during the
Soviet era. The line began in Yerevan and continued along the banks of
the Araks River, through Nakhichevan in the Azerbaijani republic,
stretching all the way to Julfa. From there the railroad cut across
the Araks River by bridge to Jolfa station in Iran. From there was
connected to the Iranian railroad grid. This was the flattest and
shortest route: 200 km from Yerevan to the Iranian border.
Mountainous terrain
With passage through Nakhichevan blocked, the new rail link will have
to be built across high mountain ranges – through the provinces of
Vayots Dzor and Syunik. The exact route through Armenian territory has
not yet been mapped out. At a press conference with his Iranian
counterpart, Mr. Gurgen Sargsian said it would be preferable to have
the railroad run from the basin of Sevan toward Jermuk. Built during
the Soviet era, there is today a working railroad from Yerevan all the
way to the western basin of Sevan, the city of Vardenis. The portion
of the railroad to be built on Iranian territory must run to the city
of Marand.
Ministers Sargsian and Behbahani said that the railroad will be built
in three stages. In the first stage, technical and financial studies
will be carried out. This stage will require three months. The second
stage will be determining the route of the railroad and the drafting
of maps. The third stage will involve the actual construction. The
ministers foresee that this project will take up to five years to
complete. The sides expect to secure financing for this project
through large banks. "Negotiations for financing have already begun
with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank," Minister Sargsian
said.
If the construction of this ambitious railroad becomes a reality, then
Armenia will not only be connected to its neighbor Iran through a rail
link, but will be able to have transportation routes all the way to
the Persian Gulf and through this have routes to neighboring regions
and states in Central Asia, the Middle East, India, and China.
Armenia’s railroads belong to a Russian company. The full management
of Armenia’s railroad, lately renamed the South Caucasian Railway, was
given to Russian Railways for a period of 30 years. Since 2001 the
Armenian railroad has been a profitable operation, primarily
transporting cargo from Armenia to Georgia all the way to the Black
Sea ports of Batumi and Poti and back.
Russian Railways promised to invest $570 million in Armenia’s
railways. It has already stated, however, that it will not finance the
Armenia-Iran initiative. The Russians will use Azerbaijan’s territory
for their railway communication with Iran.
A geopolitically significant project
Abel Aghabegians, a well-known economist and academician said last
October that the fundamental issue surrounding the construction of the
Armenia-Iran railroad would be whether the sides would be able to
guarantee the required amount of cargo transport to justify the
cost. He suggested that perhaps it would have preferable to renovate
and shorten the distance of the Armenia-Iran automobile highway by
building a few tunnels at a fraction of the cost. Mr. Aghabegians said
that the cost of building this railroad could skyrocket to $2 billion
because it would have to be built across treacherous territory. He
hinted that perhaps the geopolitical significance of the Armenia-Iran
railroad outweighs its economic benefits.
During the Soviet era, Armenia had several rail links with
Azerbaijn. Cargo and passenger trains operated between Yerevan and
Baku (this route passed along the banks of the Araks River all the way
to Julfa, then back through Armenian territory at Meghri, and back
once again into Azerbaijan) and Ijevan to Baku. The Yerevan-Kapan line
also passed through the territories of Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan. The
Yerevan-Baku and the Ichevan-Baku lines carried 80 percent of
Armenia’s cargo.
During that period, Armenia also had rail links with Turkey at the
Gyumri-Kars line, which like the other rail links to Azerbaijan, are
no longer in operation because of the 20-year-old blockade. The
Yerevan – - – Tabriz rail line has also been under blockade
because a portion of that line passes through Nakhichevan. For the
past 17 years, Armenia also hasn’t had rail connection with Russia
because a portion of that rail line passes through separatist Abkhazia
in Georgia. That rail line, which is known as the Abkhazian railroad,
has been under blockade by the Georgians since 1992.