Trial Runs On North-South Transport Corridor Between India, Russia, Iran And Azerbaijan Begin With 30 Day Rally

The countries of India, Iran, Russia and Azerbaijan began testing the North-South Transport Corridor (NSTC) on Sunday (29 April) by means of a sports car rally. The Ministry of Roads and Urban Development in Iran stated that the rally is being jointly organised by the Federation of Freight Forwarders of India and the Kalinga Motor sports club.

Taking place over 30 days, the rally will go through Shiraz, Isfahan, Tehran, Kazvin, and Rasht before reaching Iran’s Astara Port after which it will head to St Petersburg in Russia via Moscow before returning to Iran at Chabahar. The rally will see 29 participants and 20 trucks with one each from Iran, Russia and Azerbaijan while the rest will be from India.

The NSTC stretches from St Petersburg in Russia to Mumbai in India. The land corridor will connect the ports of Bandar Abbas and Chahbahar in Iran through Azerbaijan where the railway lines are being upgraded, while the sea corridor will link it to Mumbai. Once complete, it will reduce the time taken for shipments to reach Russia from 35 to 17 days.