RUSSIA: MOSCOW MULLS CONSTRUCTION OF ARMENIA-IRAN RAILWAY LINK
AZG DAILY
01-10-2009
Armenia-Iran-Russia
Russia plans to build a railway link to Iran through its strategic
partner, Armenia, a railway industry publication is reporting.
Russia’s state-owned railway construction company Roszheldoproekt is
looking for roughly $1.5 billion in funding to build the railroad,
according to report in the Russian Railway Company magazine Gudok
(Train Whistle).
Alexei Averin, spokesperson for Russian Railway, which owns
Rozsheldoproekt and runs Armenia’s railway operations, said that the
Armenian and Iranian governments are likely to provide the bulk of
the funding, Gudok reported on September 29. The rugged, mountainous
terrain along the Armenian-Iranian border is expected to pose technical
difficulties for the project and to drive up costs.
Armenia lost railway access to Russia via Georgia, its neighbor to the
north, after the 2008 Georgian-Russian war. Lines running to Azerbaijan
and Turkey are blocked for now, although the Russian-operated Armenian
railway service has recently announced plans to build a rail link to
Turkey, Eurasianet reports.