A freight train service between Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan was re-launched on Tuesday after a 10-year break, providing a significant boost to trade among the three nations and throughout the region.
The Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad (ITI) cargo train began operations in 2009 but was discontinued in 2011 owing to several delays in Pakistan.
It can travel between the three nations in around 14 days, which is substantially quicker and less expensive than the alternative maritime route.
With dozens of containers, the train left Pakistan’s capital for Europe’s largest metropolis.
It will go 1,990 kilometres (1,235 miles) across Pakistan before crossing the Taftan border into Iran for a 2,603-kilometer (1,620-mile) section.
The train will travel 1,850 kilometres (1,150 miles) through Turkey, passing via the capital Ankara before arriving in Istanbul.
Turkey, Pakistan, and Iran are the founding members of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), a 10-member regional cooperation group founded in 1964 as the Regional Cooperation for Development and renamed ECO in 1985.
The decision to restart the ITI cargo train service was made at an ECO ministerial conference in 2020.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, lauded the “historic” development as a step that will create new channels for commerce and industry in the region and beyond at Tuesday’s ceremony in Islamabad.
He said that an ITI passenger train may be introduced in the future to improve regional integration and economic cooperation.
Turkey’s ambassador to Pakistan, Mustafa Yurdakul, said the restoration of cargo rail service is a crucial step in the ECO framework and goal.
“This project has been on the agenda for a long time. It is a step that will improve bilateral cooperation and bolster economic and commercial exchanges between our countries,” he added, urging that the train link should be expanded to other regions of Europe.
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