TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will inaugurate a new railroad connecting the northwestern cities of Mianeh and Bostan Abad, which will shorten the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

In remarks on Saturday, a deputy minister of roads and urban development, Kheirollah Khademi, said Rouhani will attend the inauguration ceremony of the railroad connecting Mianeh to Bostan Abad on Monday.

The railroad is designed to provide the people in Tehran quick and easy access to the northwestern parts of the country, he said.

The railroad is approximately 114 kilometers shorter than the existing rail routes, reducing the travel time by five and a half hours, the deputy minister added. 

In recent years, the Iranian administration has ramped up efforts to boost the country’s railroad industry.

The agreement on the INSTC project was signed in 2012. Among the signatories and acceding countries are Russia, Iran, India, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, Belarus, Oman and Syria. Bulgaria has an observer status in the project.

The INSTC project envisages the construction of transport and infrastructure facilities along the shipping route through India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia and North Europe.

The project is aimed at reducing the costs and the time of railroad and maritime deliveries between the countries located along the route.