The incumbent Iranian administration has sought to facilitate the activities of merchants from the two countries, Vaezi told the Iran-Azerbaijan Business Forum in the northwestern Iranian city of Orumieh on Thursday evening, reported Tasnim News Agency.

He noted that once the train service becomes operational in the early months of the Iranian year which starts on March 21, the two sides will witness greater use of rail transport system to boost bilateral trade.

The railroad, he pointed out, will not only have a positive impact on Tehran-Baku relations but also on ties among Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

At a meeting in Baku in July 2016, officials from Iran, Russia, and Azerbaijan exchanged views on the cost of building the crucial rail link to connect Iran’s northern city of Rasht with Azerbaijan’s Astara.

The three sides also studied the possibility of Russia financing the project.

The budget for completion of Rasht-Astara railroad project is estimated at $1.1 billion, a part of which will be supplied from the $500-million loan from Azerbaijani banks.

The project is part of the North-South Corridor.

The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a multipurpose route permitting the transit of goods between Iran, Russia, Europe, India and Central Asia via shipping lines, railroad and land routes.

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Bloomberg has quoted an unnamed official from the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) as saying that the financing will be provided to the Islamic Republic through Germany’s state-run lender KfW IPEX. The official added that it would be used for the development of the railway from Tehran to Mashhad.

The funding has been agreed in principle and is close to being finalized, Bloomberg quoted Michael Tockuss, chairman of the Germany-Iran Chamber of Commerce, as saying. It would be the biggest credit line Iran has secured from foreign sources since the easing of sanctions in January, he added.

The announcement comes only a few days after the tragic crash of two trains on Tehran-Mashhad railway left dozens dead and many wounded. The crash was blamed on human error but nonetheless revived a debate at home that the country’s ageing rail fleet needs to be renovated.

Germany’s Siemens has already announced serious plans to help develop Iran’s railway system. Local media reported earlier this year that the company had signed several agreements with Iran to develop its railway network, including the electrification of the Tehran to Mashhad line. Also, officials in Tehran said earlier this month that talks were underway with Siemens to acquire high-speed trains from the company through 30-year leasing deals.

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The train left Moscow for Tehran with 40 tourists from Britain, US, Australia, Spain, Canada and South Africa. Golden Eagle had already passed Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan in 18 days to get to the city.

Iran has become a destination for 40 tourists from all across the world, who have paid 20,000 euro for the trip and are eager to visit fabulous tourist attractions.

Railway Director General of Khorasan Razavi welcomed the tourists at Mashhad railway station and expressed hope that they would enjoy their stay in the country.

He stated that this is the first time that Mashhad hosts tourist train after 20 years from the opening of the Sarakhs border.

The arrival of the train coincided with mourning rituals on Arba’een, which marks the 40th day after the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hossein.

There are a lot of people that in the especial day flock to Mashhad, Iran’s holy city, to the shrine of Imam Reza, the eighth Imam of Shias, , northeastern province of Khorasan Razavi. Annually about 5 million domestic and foreign pilgrims make pilgrimage in the city. According to a governmental statistics we have more than one million pilgrims during these days in 2016.

While in Iran, the train will take the visitors to Iran’s tourism hubs of Kerman, Yazd, Isfahan, and Shiraz. The train is expected in Tehran on November 27 where it will stay for two nights. It will later return to Mashhad and then to Turkmenistan and further on its way back to unwind its 18-day tour.

The main route of the Trans-Siberian Express — which is equipped with a four to five star hotel service — was always through Russia, the Trans-Siberian route, as well as the Silk Road through Central Asia.

The Trans-Siberian Express had to change the cars and truck wheels, so they fit the Iranian track which has a different gauge of railways than that of Russia.

Tim Littler, the president of Britain’s Golden Eagle Luxury Trains Limited that operates the railway cruise to Iran, had earlier told Sputnik that the luxurious cruise is not a one-time trip. “This is a real active project that will have a permanent schedule of tours,” Littler had said.

“The luxury train from Moscow to the Persian Odyssey will run on a continuous basis. They will go twice a year. In Iran, the best time to go is in spring and autumn. At other times of the year, it is virtually impossible to conduct tours, as it is either very hot or cold. Therefore, we will travel in October and November and in March and April.”

The Golden Eagle Luxury Trains had already conducted three rail trips to Iran from Europe.

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Tourists walk on a platform at a station in Tehran after arriving in the Iranian capital on a luxury train from Budapest on October 27, 2014. (AFP PHOTO/Atta Kenare)

Passengers from several countries including the UK, Spain, the U.S., Australia, Canada, and South Africa will aboard the opening southbound train that is scheduled to depart from Moscow on November 10th, IRNA reported on November 3.

Of an 18th-day itinerary titled “Persian Odyssey” the train will stop at various spots in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan before it enters the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad early on the 11th day of its journey.

Holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS), Nader Shah Museum, and mausoleum of the illustrious Persian poet Ferdowsi (c. 940–1020), are amongst destinations for one-day stop in Khorassan Razavi Province.

The backpackers will also have stopovers in cities of Kerman, Yazd, Isfahan, and Shiraz where rich collections of historical sites and natural beauties of the country stands within or nearby.

The journey will come to an end in Tehran by November 27, following a three-day stay in the capital that will include visits to the Treasury of National Jewels and the 19th-century Golestan Palace.

The final Persian Odyssey, which will be a northbound service, is slated to leave Tehran for Moscow on November 24, 2017, the Society of International Railway Travelers announced on its website.

According to Iranian officials, foreign tourist arrivals in the country have been more than double that of the global average since the nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), went into effect in January 2016.

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Mohsen Pourseyyed Aghaei expressed hope that the project which connects railways of Iran and Azerbaijan Republic will be implemented by the end of the current Iranian calendar year saying “upon completion, the railroad will transfer goods and commodities from Iran to Moscow and the Black Sea.”

The official, while noting that the joint bridge project for the railroad is in final stages of completion, added “both Iranian and Azerbaijani sides have accomplished a great portion of the construction phase.”

Accordingly, goods from all over the country will be carried to Astara station where they will be loaded to be transferred to the Russian capital of Moscow as well as to the Black Sea, Pourseyyed Aghaei continued to say.

Chairman of Azerbaijan Railways CSC Javid Gurbanov, for his part, stated “Azerbaijan has fulfilled its share and construction has reached the joint bridge situated on the border.”

“Under the terms of an agreement between both countries’ presidents, the construction work of the joint railway project will be finished in the current year,” stressed Gurbanov.

Baku and Tehran have decided to accelerate the construction of the Astara (Iran)-Astara (Azerbaijan) railway line, which would connect the railway networks of both countries.

Both countries have agreed to finance the construction of the railway line and connector as part of the North-South international transport corridor.

The length of the proposed railway is 10 kilometers. Some 8 kilometers will pass through Azerbaijani soil and two kilometers through Iranian territory.

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Deutsche Bahn has expressed interest in using INSTC and delivering goods from Europe to Iran

Deutsche Bahn, a leading German railway company, has expressed interest in using INSTC and delivering goods from Europe to Iran via Azerbaijan and vice versa, according to people familiar with the development, Economic Times‎ reported on Friday.

This will boost India’s plans to use INSTC to reach not just Russia but also beyond Europe in shorter time than required at present.

INSTC is a land and sea-based 7,200km-long network comprising rail, road and water routes that is aimed at reducing costs and travel time for freight transport in a bid to boost trade between Russia, Iran, Central Asia, India and Europe.

The network is expected to provide faster and more efficient trade connectivity between Europe and Southeast Asia, Deutsche Bahn said.

A study, conducted by the Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India, showed that INSTC will be 30 percent cheaper and 40 percent shorter than the existing routes.

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