First direct freight train from Ulyanovsk to Azerbaijan set for late September

For the first time, a direct freight train on the Ulyanovsk (Russian Federation) - Baku (Azerbaijan) - Astara (Iran) route is set to depart at the end of September. Azernews reports, citing TASS, that Alexey Russkikh, the governor of the Ulyanovsk region, shared this update during a meeting on the region's comprehensive development.

According to Governor Russkikh, the inaugural Ulyanovsk-Baku-Astara freight block train will operate under the Middle Volga-Caspian-Persian Gulf corridor initiative. The train will consist of at least 70 specially modified wagons, including closed tanks and bunker-type wagons.

Each train will have the capacity to transport 3,500 tons of various goods, including products from the agro-industrial complex, wood processing, and other industrial goods. Governor Russkikh also mentioned that there are plans to reload the train with products manufactured in Azerbaijan, Iran, and neighboring countries.

"I would like to note that the export train will be the first train moving in this direction since the time of the Soviet Union," Russkikh emphasized.

The launch of this freight train is the result of agreements with Azerbaijan's Prime Minister Ali Asadov and the coordinated efforts of Russian and Azerbaijani railway institutions, with support from the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation and other organizations.