The volume of container transportation along the North-South ITC has doubled since the beginning of the year. Deputy head of Russian Railways Alexey Shilo spoke about this at the «PRO//Движение.Каспий» conference in Astrakhan, according to the Russian Railways Telegram channel.

According to his speech, the North-South transport corridor, which until recently was perceived as a futuristic project, has now acquired practical shape.

“This year we have doubled the volume of container cargo transportation along all branches of the North-South ITC and we can see a very good prospect and, most importantly, the interest of all transportation participants in the development of this corridor,” emphasized Alexey Shilo.

There was an increase in the transportation of all types of cargo along the branches of the ITC: along the Western branch - by 7%, along the Trans-Caspian - by 10%, and along the Eastern branch +26%.

The International transport corridor “North - South” is a multimodal route with a length of 7.2 thousand km that will connect St. Petersburg with the ports of Iran and India. It is an alternative to the sea route connecting Europe, the countries of the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean through the Suez Canal. The western and eastern branches of the ITC pass through Iran: the western branch provides for transportation across Iran by road through Rasht, the eastern branch by rail. The final point in Iran is the port of Bandar Abbas, from which cargo can be transported to India by sea. The western branch also passes through Azerbaijan, the eastern through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. In addition, direct sea transportation from Russia across the Caspian Sea to Iran is possible.