BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 4. Iran is set to
open the Ardabil-Mianeh railway on a trial basis, connecting the
northwestern Ardabil Province with East Azerbaijan Province, the
country’s Parliament Deputy Speaker Ali Nikzad told reporters
during a briefing in Ardabil, Trend reports.
According to Nikzad, on the launch date, the CEO of Iran’s Roads
and Transport Infrastructure Construction and Development Company,
Houshang Bazvand, Ardabil Governor Masoud Emami Yeganeh, and the
province’s parliamentary deputies will travel to Mianeh and return
to Ardabil by train.
Nikzad noted that the trial operation will help identify
potential issues with the railway, which will then be addressed
before the official opening scheduled for March 5.
Construction of the 175-kilometer railway line between Ardabil
and Mianeh began in 2005 and is being carried out in 11 sections,
with over a third passing through mountainous terrain. Once
operational, the line is expected to transport 2.5 million tons of
cargo and 600,000 passengers in its first year, with annual
capacity projected to grow to 4 million tons of cargo and 1.5
million passengers over the next two decades.
Iran considers the railway’s opening to be strategically
important for both economic development and transit purposes.
