International North-South Transport Corridor

The multimodal ship, rail and road corridor linking India with Russia and northern Europe through Iran and the Caspian region.

Overview

Russia, Iran and India signed the founding agreement in 2000, and more states joined later. The concept routes cargo from Mumbai by sea to Bandar Abbas, then by road and rail across Iran either along the western shore of the Caspian through Azerbaijan or across the sea or the eastern shore through Central Asia, reaching Moscow and beyond. Backers claim it can be markedly faster and cheaper than the Suez route. Progress has been slow because of sanctions on Iran and missing links such as the Rasht to Astara railway, which Russia agreed to finance in 2023. Since 2022, Russian interest in the corridor has grown sharply.