The 6,500-kilometer test run between Islamabad and İstanbul via the Iranian capital of Tehran is a pilot project of the regional Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO). The freight train departed from Van to İstanbul early Tuesday morning.
A trilateral ministerial meeting of Iran, Pakistan and Turkey on the Islamabad-Tehran-İstanbul route of the ECO freight train was held in Tehran on March 1, 2009, with participants discussing key projects needed to improve the capacity and speed of transit traffic in the region.
The train will return to Islamabad in September, Muhammed Atılcan of Turkish State Railways (TCDD) told the Anatolia news agency, stressing that the new railway would shorten travel time between European countries and Islamabad by a considerable amount.
“This railway is also an important symbol towards a closer relationship between the economies of these three brotherly countries,” Atılcan added.
The transportation of textile products, cotton, medical equipments, toys and sports equipment from Pakistan to Turkey are planned via the train route, while engines, chemical products, paper and paper products are planned to be transported from Turkey to Pakistan.
ECO is an international organization composed of 10 countries -- Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
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