29 Dec 2021 By Know Muslim
Freight rail service has begun operating between the Pakistani capital of Islamabad and the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul, operating on a route more than 4,000 miles long.
The service previously ran on a trial basis in 2009-2011 and, after several abortive attempts to resume operations, the first train left Islamabad on December 21 and arrived in Iran on Sunday, on its way to Turkey’s Anatolia. The trains will take 12 days to 14 days to complete the journey – about half the time it takes by sea, and will be more cost-effective than by road.
The Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul (ITI) train will proceed 1,235 miles inside Pakistan before crossing through the Taftan border crossing in the province of Balochistan to cover a 1,620-mile section in Iran. Before reaching its final destination, the train will travel 1,150 miles in Turkey, passing through the capital, Ankara.
The ITI train service was launched in 2009 within the framework of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO). Test runs were carried out but there was no consistent service.
The ECO is an Asian political and economic intergovernmental organization founded in 1985 by the leaders of Iran, Pakistan and Turkey. Currently, 10 countries are members: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The ECO’s secretariat and cultural department are located in Iran, its economic bureau is in Turkey and its scientific bureau is in Pakistan.
A simple but dignified inaugural departure ceremony was held at the Margalla railway station in Islamabad, attended by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi; Federal Minister for Railways Azam Khan Swati; Abdul Razzak Dawood, adviser to the prime minister for commerce and investment; the ambassadors of Iran, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan; and a representative of the ECO.
“The ITI train will be one of the most effective vehicles that can help in expanding exports, imports and trade between ECO member countries,” Dawood said during his address.
“The resumption of the ECO freight train is a step toward better regional communication between the three countries, facilitating trade and public transportation for the long-term economic benefit of the region,” he added.
Regional connectivity is an important pillar of the “Strategic Trade Policy Framework,” Dawood said.
Swati in his speech said: “The operation of the container train from Pakistan to Iran and Turkey was an old dream of the countries of the region which has come true.” He added that the Railways Ministry is planning to run a passenger train between these countries in the near future.
“We believe in and promote economic diplomacy that is the need of the hour, and this is a good start,” Qureshi said.
Syed Mohammad Ali Hosseini, Iran’s ambassador to Islamabad, tweeted that “the freight train services will play a vital role in improving the economies & lives of citizens of ECO member states by maximizing ECO efficiency & reducing the cost of doing business.”
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