TEHRAN- A railway expert said that Iran-China commercial train frequency to one daily train would enable cargo movement of one million tons per year.

Mohammad Javad Shahjouei, a rail industry expert, in an interview with Mehr News Agency, detailed the potential of rail trade between Iran and China. He stated that regarding rail connectivity between Iran and China, routes such as Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran and China-Pakistan-Iran have been defined. Additionally, the China-Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Iran route could become operational if Afghanistan's rail infrastructure is completed.

He added that currently, the first two routes — the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran corridor and the China-Pakistan-Iran route — exist in terms of infrastructure connectivity and are operable. Although the Pakistan route has not yet been fully utilized, the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan route has been active so far.

* Completing Afghanistan's rail lines could reshape Iran-China trade dynamics 

Shahjouei explained that the Afghanistan route could take two forms: first, a direct connection from China to Afghanistan, and then the connection of Afghanistan's rail network to Iran, in which case the main challenge lies in the China-Afghanistan link. The second form is connecting China to Uzbekistan and then linking Termez in Uzbekistan to Mazar-i-Sharif in Afghanistan — a section that currently exists. However, to complete the chain, the Herat-to-Mazar-i-Sharif route inside Afghanistan needs to be finished.

Regarding the capacity of these corridors, he continued that no exact figure can be given for total capacity, because the rail line's capacity along this route is not dedicated solely to transit through Iran. Part of it is allocated to East-West transport, and another part to domestic transport in the intermediary countries. Nevertheless, the capacity of these routes can be increased through rate adjustments and transport scheduling.

* China-Iran freight train capacity can be increased to one train daily

The rail industry expert noted that currently, according to the Railway Administration, trains on the China-Iran route run once every three to four days. However, this capacity can be upgraded to one daily train. If this level is achieved, the route could move approximately one million tons of cargo annually.

He emphasized that if the Pakistan and Afghanistan routes become operational, a significant portion of trade between Iran and China could be conducted via the rail network.

Shahjouei stated that an important point is that because rail transport is more expensive than sea transport, the goods using this route are mainly those that are in the middle or end of the value chain and possess higher added value.

The rail industry expert concluded by noting another crucial issue: making the cargo flow bidirectional. That is, imported containers must be filled with Iranian export cargo and returned to China so that this trade chain can be established sustainably. Finally, he stressed that rail cannot cover the entire volume of Iran-China trade, but it can play a significant role in moving trade priorities.

EF/MA