Pakistan, Türkiye agree in principle to revive Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul freight rail link
KARACHI: Pakistan and Türkiye agreed in principle on Friday to work toward the early revival of the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul (ITI) freight train and develop it into a permanent commercial trade corridor, the Pakistani railways ministry said, as the two countries sought to deepen rail connectivity linking South Asia, Central Asia and Europe.
Launched in 2009 under the Economic Cooperation Organization, the 6,500-kilometer ITI freight corridor runs through Pakistan, Iran and Türkiye but has operated only intermittently since being suspended in 2012 due to security and operational challenges. Pakistan and Iran agreed in December 2025 to resume the service.
The latest understanding between Islamabad and Ankara was reached during a delegation-level meeting between Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Railways Muhammad Hanif Abbasi and Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu during Abbasi’s two-day official visit to Türkiye, according to a statement issued by Pakistan’s Ministry of Railways.
“In our inter-delegation meeting, while we evaluated cooperation opportunities in Pakistan’s planned railway infrastructure projects, we agreed to take concrete steps toward developing the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul train,” Uraloğlu wrote on his official X account after the meeting.
In the Pakistan Railways statement, the ministers described the ITI corridor as a strategic project to strengthen trade and regional connectivity between South Asia, Central Asia and Europe.
The two sides also reviewed Pakistan Railways’ Rohri-Taftan Main Line-3 (ML-3) upgrade, a strategic route linking central Pakistan with the Iranian border that Islamabad hopes will boost cross-border freight traffic and regional trade. They also discussed progress on the Karachi-Rohri Main Line-1 (ML-1) project, part of Pakistan’s main north-south railway corridor connecting the country’s largest port city with the rest of the rail network. Pakistan invited Turkish state-owned and private companies to invest in the remaining sections of ML-1 and participate in broader railway infrastructure projects.
The ministers also explored the possibility of Türkiye joining the proposed Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan Railway Corridor (UAPRC), a planned regional rail link aimed at connecting landlocked Central Asia to Pakistan’s Arabian Sea ports via Afghanistan. The two sides also discussed potential Turkish technical cooperation for the project.
Beyond infrastructure, Pakistan and Türkiye agreed to expand cooperation in technology transfer, digital railway systems, rolling stock modernization, capacity building and private sector participation. They also discussed opportunities for joint ventures and local manufacturing at Pakistan Railways’ Carriage Factory Islamabad, concrete sleeper plants and engineering workshops, including the production of passenger coaches, freight wagons and railway equipment using Turkish technology.
Pakistan Railways has been seeking foreign investment and technical partnerships as it modernizes its aging network. The state-owned operator posted record revenue of Rs115 billion ($404 million) in fiscal year 2024-25, according to Abbasi, although an Auditor General’s report released in June also recorded losses of Rs61 billion ($214 million) for the same period.