Lahore:
The departure of Pakistan Railways’ first freight train to Russia has been canceled due to regional instability triggered by the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict, confirmed rail sources on Friday.
The load train was scheduled to deviate from Lahore on June 22 (Sunday), but has been postponed indefinitely due to border endings between Pakistan, Iran and other transit countries affected by the conflict.
According to PR -officials, the freight train was intended to be the first of its kind for the purpose of traveling from Lahore to the Russian city of Astrakhan.
The train was to travel with sixteen freight cars filled with a number of goods determined to Russia with plans to increase the number of containers to thirty and finally fifty in phase operations.
The launch of the freight train was part of PR’s wider strategy to strengthen the trade connection between South Asia and Central Asia, which facilitates direct overland exports and imports with Russia, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.
“Due to the Iran-Israel conflict and related security risks, the train cannot be sent at this time. It will only differ when the war ends and the situation stabilized,” rail sources said.
The proposed route for the freight train included transit through Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan before reaching Russia.
The trading corridor was not only expected to enable Pakistani exports, but also to bring goods from Russia and Central Asian countries such as Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.
