Dec 22, 2021: After a 10 year-long hiatus, freight train service between Turkey, Iran and Pakistan resumed on Tuesday with the aim of boosting trade between the three countries and within the region.

The Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad (ITI) cargo train was launched in 2009 but was suspended in 2011 due to several delays in Pakistan. It can complete a voyage between the three countries in about 14 days, which is much faster and less expensive than an alternative sea route.

The train left the Pakistani capital with dozens of containers for Europe’s largest city. It will cover a distance of 1,990 km (1,235 miles) inside Pakistan before crossing the Taftan border and extending 2,603 km (1,620 miles) across Iran.

The train will travel about 1,850 kilometers (1,150 miles) in Turkey, passing through the capital Ankara before reaching its final stop in Istanbul. Turkey, Pakistan and Iran are the founders of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), a 10-member regional cooperation bloc established in 1964 as the Regional Cooperation for Development and renamed the ECO in 1985.

The decision to resume ITI cargo train service was taken at a ministerial meeting of ECO member countries in 2020. At a ceremony in Islamabad on Tuesday, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi hailed the “historic” development as a step that would open new avenues for trade and commerce in the region and beyond.

Qureshi commented on the expected benefits the project saying, an ITI passenger train could also be launched in the future to further enhance regional connectivity and economic integration.

Mustafa Yurdakul, Turkey’s ambassador to Pakistan, said the resumption of the cargo train service is an important move part of the ECO framework and vision.

“This project has been on the agenda for a long time. It is a step that will improve bilateral cooperation and bolster economic and commercial exchanges between our countries,” he said, emphasising that the rail link should be extended further to other parts of Europe.

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