“Iranian and Turkish delegations have finalized plans, during a series of shuttle visits, to launch train services between the two capitals”, Saeed Rasouli told a press conference.
As of late June, the weekly train service shuttling between Tehran and Ankara will get underway, he added.
At the same time, train services will be available to take passengers from Tehran to Turkey’s eastern city of Van once a week, the deputy minister said.
Iran’s Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development said that the train services are key factors to develop tourism between Iran and Turkey.
“During a trip to Turkey, we had a meeting with the Turkish Tourism Minister to launch a tour of tourism between Iran and Turkey.”
In light of the wide-scale demand, a tourism train may be launched between the cities of Shiraz to Istanbul or Tehran to Istanbul and vice versa he added.
In addition to the Tehran-Ankara and Tehran-Van trains, tourist trains will also be operational between the two countries, Rasouli added.
He went on to say that Iran and Turkey have finalized an agreement on the tariffs on cargo trains traveling between the two countries.
Iran and Turkey have set a $30-billion annual trade target, signing several agreements to enhance economic cooperation in various areas.
Turkey is one of Iran’s major trading partners in the region which has come under pressure from Washington to stop working with Tehran under a fresh wave of US sanctions.
