Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad (ITI) Railroad to Resume for future BRI Business
At a meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization’s (ECO) in Istanbul on December 15, Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan decided to relaunch the Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad (ITI) railroad. Operations of the railway are set to resume later this year.
The ECO is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1985 by the same three countries, currently with a total of ten members. The organization focuses on trade, investment, and cooperation on agriculture. ECO members are furthermore planning cooperation on pipelines for natural gas.
The ITI is originally an ECO project as well. It connected railway systems in Turkey, Iran and Pakistan for a freight railway line stretching 6500 kilometers from Istanbul to Tehran and on to Islamabad. Trial operations began in 2009. However, due to all kinds of bureaucratic and organizational difficulties this never led to a regular service, and the project came to a standstill. Complicating matters was the difference in railway gauge; Turkey and Iran use Standard gauge whereas Pakistan uses Broad gauge. This necessitated a break-of-gauge facility in Zahedan, Iran, at the border with Pakistan.
The relaunch of the line comes at a time when Turkey is selling itself as a Eurasian transport hub, Iran is looking for new ways to trade under U.S. sanctions, and Pakistan pins it hope for economic growth on improved infrastructural connections with its neighbors [Reinventing Pakistan’s rail infrastructure].
Countries have agreed to unified trade tariffs and to a fixed timetable for the train. Initially, it will be a freight-only service, but countries want to add passenger trains to the schedule soon. When all runs well, the train can cover the 6500-kilometer distance in about 11 days, even with the still unresolved gauge problem.
Another reason why Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan believe the ITI may fare better this time is BRI. China is most interested in establishing more railway connections with Europe, mainly for freight. In Pakistan, the ITI railway could connect to the Karachi-Lahore Peshawar (ML-1) Railway line. This line is currently undergoing a $6.8 billion upgrade and expansion paid for by China, as part of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The ML-1 could then connect to the Taxila–Khunjerab Railway Line. This is a proposed railway running to the Chinese border, crossing into Xinjiang at the Khunjerab Pass, and then onto China’s national railway network.
However, the ML1 has been delayed several times, mainly due to disagreements over costs between China and Pakistan, and work on the Taxila–Khunjerab line has yet to begin. The most optimistic expectations see the projects completed by 2030. So, it may take a while before trains start to run between China and Turkey via Pakistan and Iran.
But if that takes too long, China has another railway link to Turkey: Via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor. This line runs from Turkey to Georgia to Azerbaijan, where it crosses the Caspian Sea by ferry to Kazakhstan. Then it goes to the Chinese border, into Xinjiang, and on to the city of Xi’an in Shaanxi Province.
TITR is a cooperation between railway and transport organizations of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Kazakhstan. The organization was founded in 2013 with the purpose of creating freight transport from China to Europe.
The feasibility of this line was demonstrated in December, when a train from Turkey reached Xi’an in China, covering 8693 kilometers in 15 days. A second train departed Turkey on December 21.
While this line is at least operational, it carries extra risk, caused mainly by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The line also runs through more countries and includes a complex ferry-operation. Gauge problems play a role here too, as Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan use the Russian railway gauge.
China will likely bet on both connections for now, waiting to see which one ends up being the best.
Tycho de Feijter
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