Armenia-Iran railways

Armenia has prepared a feasibility study of the project to build railways connecting Armenia with Iran.

The project proposed a line of 540 kilometres, of which 480 km will be on Armenian territory. As Armenian Deputy Minister for Transport and Communications Grant Beglarian has stated, if Armenia takes care of its portion of the railways the other 60 kilometres will not be difficult for Iran to take care of.

The Director of Iran Railways, Hassan Ziari, has expressed the readiness of his company to participate in the project, highlighting that it is the most important project in the country. He stressed the importance to Iran of cooperating with neighbouring countries.

The Iran-Armenia railway project will cost around USD 2 billion and should take around five years to fulfil. The Asian Development Bank has expressed its readiness to participate in financing this project and the World Bank has also highlighted its interest.

In March 2008 the Armenian and Iranian parties will sign a final agreement. At present Armenia’s only railway connection with the rest of the world is through Georgia.