The project was inaugurated during a visit of the minister
to the southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan Province in which he inaugurated several
other port and maritime projects as well.
This railway project which is aimed to connect Chabahar to
Zahedan (the capital city of Sistan-Baluchestan Province) is planned to be completed
by the end of the Iranian calendar year of 1400 (March 2022).
To further accelerate the project, the track-laying
operations are being conducted from both ends of the line that is from both
Chabahar port and Zahedan. The track-laying operations of the 628-kilometer
railway had been started from the Zahedan end in early July.
The Chabahar-Zahedan railway is under construction in two
parts, north and south, of which the southern part is 312 km and the northern
part is 316 km long. The project will be completed in the form of eight
operational sections.
Establishing an all-rail corridor in the east of the
country, connecting Chabahar as the country’s only oceanic port to the national
railway network, developing Makran coasts through rail transportation,
connecting Central Asia and Afghanistan to open ocean waters, creating a
suitable platform for development and economic growth, saving fuel consumption
and reducing road accidents, creating sustainable development and security in
the region and establishing permanent cooperation with countries in the region
and other countries with trade and transit exchanges are reported to be some of
the goals of Chabahar-Zahedan railway project.
Meanwhile, transporting 927,000 passengers and 2.8 million
tons of cargoes by the Iranian calendar year 1401 (begins in March 2022) is set
to be the short-term economic goal of this project.