Karachi: The Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad (ITI) train service is expected to resume operations next year following the completion of key requirements pertaining to the initiative, a news source reported on December 21.
The communications project was discussed during the 10th edition of the ECO Transport and Communications Ministers Meeting; held in Istanbul few days ago. It is pertinent to mention here that the ITI service was introduced in 2009 as part of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO)’s endeavors to facilitate transnational connectivity.
ECO, a 10-state Asia trade bloc, had begun the test run of said train service in 2009. The initiative was aimed at fostering economic ties between Istanbul, Tehran and Islamabad. However, going forward, the service is expected to help develop trade ties between Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan as well.
Following its completion, the new railway line is expected to reduce the Istanbul-Islamabad transit route. According to reports, it took freight train 13 days to complete the 6,500km journey under the trial run. Later, the journey was further reduced to 11.5 days.
