Qazvin – Astara railway line

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The railway line Qazvin-Astara is a partially completed, partly under construction railway of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways that connect from which the railway line Tehran-Tabriz located Qazvin to the railway network of Azerbaijan is to be produced.

Geographical conditions

Since the Peace of Gulistan in 1813, the city ​​of Astara has been divided by the Astarachai, which became a border river and consists of an Azerbaijani, Astara (Azerbaijan) , and an Iranian half, Astara (Iran) . Astara (Azerbaijan) has already received a rail connection from Baku. The route ends there in a terminal station . A terminus station is also planned in Astara (Iran) for the end of the Iranian line.

history

The historic rail link between Iran and Azerbaijan ran through the Jolfa border crossing at the end of the Tabriz – Jolfa railway line . There followed a route through the Azerbaijani exclave Nakhichevan , on through Armenia and from there to Azerbaijan. Due to the politically torn situation between Azerbaijan and Armenia, traffic on this route has been interrupted for many years. The Qazvin – Astara railway line (and from there cross-border to Baku ) serves to avoid this politically-related problem. The basic agreement between Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia was signed in July 2004. Russia is very interested in the connection: once it is completed, container trains will run between Moscow and Bandar Abbas on the Persian Gulf and the transport times for goods between India and Russia will be drastically reduced. Russia is therefore also contributing financially to the construction of the line. The first container train reached Moscow on October 12, 2016 after 23 days, bridging the section of the road under construction.

Iran began construction of the line in 2006, initially the 165-kilometer section between Rasht and Qazvin. This section was inaugurated on March 6, 2019 in the presence of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani , with several delays .

route

The Qazvin – Astara railway line has been partially completed, the rest is under construction.

Technical parameters

The 350 km long standard-gauge line should be designed for 200 km / h, according to other information for 160 km / h. The route leads north of Rasht through mountainous terrain and requires a lot of effort to build: 22 tunnels with a total length of 25 km and 15 bridges with a total length of 8 km have to be built.

Since both Astara in Iran and Astara in Azerbaijan each have their own terminus, they are not integrated into cross-border freight traffic. Rather, this takes place via a connecting railway that branches off the routes and leads past the cities to the west. Its 8.3 kilometer long Azerbaijani section was completed on November 7, 2016. From this peak in operation , a further 1.7 kilometers (1.4 kilometers according to another source) were laid in Iran in the Azerbaijani track of 1520 millimeters. The lane changing station is therefore in Iran. It occupies an area of ​​35 ha .

state of construction

There were significant delays in construction. Originally, the entire route should be opened in 2011. The line has been completed on the Azerbaijani side, with the Azerbaijani broad gauge track leading to the Iranian side of the border. The section from Qazvin to Rasht was opened on March 8, 2019. Construction continues on the section between Rasht and Astara (Iran). After the completion date has been postponed several times, it is now Template: future / in 4 yearsexpected to be in 2024 at the earliest .

Cross-border rail systems

Astara border crossing
Gauge : 1520 mm ( Russian gauge )
Legend
BSicon .svgBSicon STR.svg
from Baku
BSicon STR + l.svgBSicon ABZgr.svg
BSicon STR.svgBSicon KBHFe.svg
Astara (Azerbaijan)
BSicon TZOLLWo.svgBSicon WASSERq.svg
Astachai
BSicon STR.svgBSicon exKBHFa.svg
Astara (Iran)
BSicon KDSTxe.svgBSicon exSTR.svg
Lane changing station
BSicon exSTRl.svgBSicon exABZg + r.svg
BSicon .svgBSicon exSTR.svg
to Qazvin and Tehran

On April 20, 2016, the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the railway bridge over the border river took place, according to another source, construction work began on March 1, 2016. In the course of this construction work, buildings that were in the way of the route also had to be demolished . Financing and construction of the bridge was carried out jointly between Iran and Azerbaijan. The bridge is 82.5 meters long, 11.8 meters wide and 8 meters high over the border river. On March 3, 2017, the first test train crossed the border bridge. On February 8, 2018, a test train reached the goods station on the Iranian side for the first time.

traffic

In 2020, two pairs of trains will run daily between Qazvin and Rascht: one connects the cities with Tehran , the second with Mashad via Tehran.

In future cross-border traffic, a volume of 6 million tons per year is initially expected. This is to be increased to 15 to 20 million tons. Freight traffic is currently being carried out in the Iranian border station by transshipment to the road.

literature

  • ADY : The first trial train launched on the railway line Astara (Azerbaijan) - Astara (Iran) . In: OSJD Bulletin 2018/1, p. 20.
  • hjs: Astara – Astara route . In: IBSE telegram 307 (6/2016), p. 10.
  • NN: New Bridge to Azerbaijan . In: Ha Rakevet 113, 15.
  • Neil Robinson: World Rail Atlas . Vol. 8: The Middle East and Caucasus . 2006.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Robinson, plate 47.
  2. ↑ Robinson, p. 19.
  3. ↑ bac: RZD want to promote freight traffic on the Russia - India axis . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International 8–9 / 2016, p. 409.
  4. ↑ Mumbai to Moscow intermodal freight arrives. railwaygazette.com, October 20, 2016, accessed November 8, 2016 .
  5. ^ NN: Qazvin - Rasht: Commissioning of Another Railway Section of the International North-South Transport Corridor . In: OSJD Bulletin 2 (2019), p. 31.
  6. ↑ Homepage about the construction, with numerous photos. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on July 7, 2013 ; Retrieved November 8, 2016 (Persian).
  7. ↑ a b c Azerbaijan completes link to Iranian border. Azerbaijan completes link to Iranian border, November 8, 2016, accessed November 8, 2016 .
  8. ↑ HaRakevet 95 (December 2011), 95:08 Other Middle East Railways, C. Iran, (iii) Massive Expansion Plans , p. 16.
  9. ^ A b ADY: The first trial train .
  10. ↑ a b hjs: Astara – Astara route
  11. ↑ a b c NN: Azerbaijan - Iran Bridge Opend . In: Railway Gazette International of March 6, 2017. Based on: HaRakevet 117 (June 2017), p. 21.
  12. ^ NN: New Bridge
  13. ↑ Bernd Seiler: The Iranian State Railway . In: Fern-Express 3/2016, pp. 14-21 (18).
  14. ↑ rp: Line openings in Iran . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International 7/2020, p. 362.
  15. ↑ rp: Line openings in Iran . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International 7/2020, p. 362.
  16. ↑ rp: Line openings in Iran . In: Eisenbahn-Revue International 7/2020, p. 362.