A Joint Expert Committee's meeting was held between Pakistan Railways and Iranian Railways here at the Ministry of Railways on Thursday. Iranian delegation was headed by Majid Arjouni, DG Zahedan Railways. It was decided that fortnightly passenger train between Pakistan and Iran can be restarted, as security situation is getting better. It was decided that train will be destined for Mashad or Qom and the service will be resumed prior to Muharram.
The regular plying of 15 freight trains on demand of merchants between Quetta and Zahedan was also discussed. It was decided that the number of freight trains would be increased to 30 from the current 15 trains per month. The proposed dates will be shared by the Iranian side. Iranian side prefers booking of consignment ex Zahedan for Quetta due to operational and security issues. But security is improving, so now Pakistan Railways' division is in position to dispatch consignments to other parts of country as well.
The up-gradation of Spezand and Taftan (ML-III) section was also discussed. The request for proposal (RFP) for up-gradation of existing feasibility study of ML-III is in progress and will be accomplished in 2018. The sources said that ML-III is in conformity with the CPEC and certainly would give it a boost. Pakistan Railways is interested in regional connectivity due to CPEC. It wants to use all regional potentials to gain maximum advantage from the CPEC. The ML-III is also an integral part of the rich regional connectivity.
An official said there should be a regular train service between Quetta and Zahedan and Quetta and Chaman linking the province with Iran and Afghanistan respectively. The up-gradation includes complete replacement of track structure, conversion of 183 dips into bridges, rehabilitation of old bridges and provision of proper signaling. Usually the LPG from Iran is imported via road.
Pakistan Railways proposed for specialized containers to transport of the LPG from Iran. Pakistan Railways has also offered concession in its freight structure to promote trade through railways. The current freight rates are Rs 800 per ton for import and Rs 500 per ton for export. ECO Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul (ITI) Train was also discussed. Pakistan Railways mentioned that merchants were discouraged due to change of destination from Istanbul to Kosekoy.
So, Pakistani side requested Iranian side to persuade the ECO Secretariat for revival of ECO train up to Istanbul, instead of Kosekoy. Sources said Turkey was reportedly hesitant on sharing tariff structure on ECO train service due to the ongoing work on the up-gradation of tracks. The up-gradation of tracks is expected to be completed by December 2018, sources added. Pakistan Railways also mentioned that revision of 1959 Agreement between Pakistan Railways and Iranian Railways is under process. Pakistan Railways has also revived communication with Taftan section on magneto telephone. Iranian side also demanded for import of mechanical and civil material from Pakistan Railways.
Officials said the region had the potential to become future economic hub, once the Gwadar is developed providing trade facilities to the landlocked Central Asian countries and Afghanistan. The meeting was chaired by Zubair Shafi Ghauri, Secretary Railway Board and Ministry of Railways. DG Technical Munawar Shah, DG Operation Agha Waseem, DCP Noor ud Din, DS Quetta Aamir Baloch, AD T1 Asia Baig, and ADC-2 Abida Maryam were also present at the meeting.