InternationalIn five years, Armenia, Iran to be connected by rail
If this ambitious initiative materializes, Armenia could have a passage through the ports of the Persian Gulf
Published: Friday April 10, 2009
Armenia’s and Nagorno-Karabakh’s railways. The borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan are closed. The only operating international rail link is with Georgia. Armenian Reporter map / © 2009 Armenian Reporter LLC
Yerevan - High-ranking officials from Armenia and Iran are giving assurances that in five years' time there will be a railroad linking the two countries. According to preliminary calculations, the railroad will stretch for approximately 470 kilometers, with 410 of those on Armenian territory. The total cost of this undertaking is expected to run about $1.2 billion.
An agreement will be signed by Armenia and Iran sometime this month when President Serge Sargsian is expected to be in Tehran for an official visit. On April 3 Armenia's minister of transportation, Gurgen Sargsian, and Iran's transport and communications minister, Hamid Behbahani, signed a memorandum of understanding in this regard.
Armenia, which is currently under blockade from the west by Turkey and from the east by Azerbaijan, had a rail link with Iran during the Soviet era. The line began in Yerevan and continued along the banks of the Araks River, through Nakhichevan in the Azerbaijani republic, stretching all the way to Julfa. From there the railroad cut across the Araks River by bridge to Jolfa station in Iran. From there was connected to the Iranian railroad grid. This was the flattest and shortest route: 200 km from Yerevan to the Iranian border.
Mountainous terrain
With passage through Nakhichevan blocked, the new rail link will have to be built across high mountain ranges - through the provinces of Vayots Dzor and Syunik. The exact route through Armenian territory has not yet been mapped out. At a press conference with his Iranian counterpart, Mr. Gurgen Sargsian said it would be preferable to have the railroad run from the basin of Sevan toward Jermuk. Built during the Soviet era, there is today a working railroad from Yerevan all the way to the western basin of Sevan, the city of Vardenis. The portion of the railroad to be built on Iranian territory must run to the city of Marand.
Ministers Sargsian and Behbahani said that the railroad will be built in three stages. In the first stage, technical and financial studies will be carried out. This stage will require three months. The second stage will be determining the route of the railroad and the drafting of maps. The third stage will involve the actual construction. The ministers foresee that this project will take up to five years to complete. The sides expect to secure financing for this project through large banks. "Negotiations for financing have already begun with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank," Minister Sargsian said.
If the construction of this ambitious railroad becomes a reality, then Armenia will not only be connected to its neighbor Iran through a rail link, but will be able to have transportation routes all the way to the Persian Gulf and through this have routes to neighboring regions and states in Central Asia, the Middle East, India, and China.
Armenia's railroads belong to a Russian company. The full management of Armenia's railroad, lately renamed the South Caucasian Railway, was given to Russian Railways for a period of 30 years. Since 2001 the Armenian railroad has been a profitable operation, primarily transporting cargo from Armenia to Georgia all the way to the Black Sea ports of Batumi and Poti and back.
Russian Railways promised to invest $570 million in Armenia's railways. It has already stated, however, that it will not finance the Armenia-Iran initiative. The Russians will use Azerbaijan's territory for their railway communication with Iran.
A geopolitically significant project
Abel Aghabegians, a well-known economist and academician said last October that the fundamental issue surrounding the construction of the Armenia-Iran railroad would be whether the sides would be able to guarantee the required amount of cargo transport to justify the cost. He suggested that perhaps it would have preferable to renovate and shorten the distance of the Armenia-Iran automobile highway by building a few tunnels at a fraction of the cost. Mr. Aghabegians said that the cost of building this railroad could skyrocket to $2 billion because it would have to be built across treacherous territory. He hinted that perhaps the geopolitical significance of the Armenia-Iran railroad outweighs its economic benefits.
During the Soviet era, Armenia had several rail links with Azerbaijn. Cargo and passenger trains operated between Yerevan and Baku (this route passed along the banks of the Araks River all the way to Julfa, then back through Armenian territory at Meghri, and back once again into Azerbaijan) and Ijevan to Baku. The Yerevan-Kapan line also passed through the territories of Azerbaijan and Nakhichevan. The Yerevan-Baku and the Ichevan-Baku lines carried 80 percent of Armenia's cargo.
During that period, Armenia also had rail links with Turkey at the Gyumri-Kars line, which like the other rail links to Azerbaijan, are no longer in operation because of the 20-year-old blockade. The Yerevan-Tabriz rail line has also been under blockade because a portion of that line passes through Nakhichevan. For the past 17 years, Armenia also hasn't had rail connection with Russia because a portion of that rail line passes through separatist Abkhazia in Georgia. That rail line, which is known as the Abkhazian railroad, has been under blockade by the Georgians since 1992.
