Iran will open a major rail link in its southeast by late June as the government moves ahead with plans to connect the strategic port of Chabahar on the Sea of Oman to its railway network.
The construction headquarters of Iran’s elite military force the IRGC said in a report on Monday the rail link between the cities of Zahedan and Khash, located in the border province of Sistan and Baluchestan, will be ready by the end of the current calendar month on June 21. The report said that the railway will be around 180 kilometers in length considering the lines built in and around its stations. A contractor of the railway said the project had reached a record of 4,200 meters of track-laying in recent weeks.
He said the IRGC will continue works to extend the railway to Chabahar where Iran is introducing major transportation projects.
The Zahedan-Chabahar rail line is Iran’s largest railway project. Once finished, the 634-kilometer line will become key to cargo transportation from the Indian Ocean to Afghanistan and other landlocked countries in Central Asia region.
Iran decided to finish the railway on its own after Indian companies pulled out of projects defined to develop the infrastructure surrounding Chabahar where India is operating terminals and port facilities.
