For the first time, Russia has sent two trains laden with coal to India via the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
Key points
- The two trains with Kuzbass coal headed to India along the International North-South Transport Corridor.
- The trains set off from the Kemerovo region. They followed along the eastern branch of the INSTC through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.
- INSTC connects Russia to India via Iran.
- INSTC is a multimodal route that includes a railway, roadway network and seaports, the INSTC spans 7,200km (4,500 miles) from St. Petersburg to the port of Mumbai in India.
- Recently, India took over management of Iran’s Chabahar Port for an initial 10-year period.
- INSTC will allow Indian traders to reach Central Asia with greater ease and more cost-effectively. This will mean efficient access to Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, and the Baltic and Nordic countries — and not just the 11 countries in Central Asia.
- Indian cargo from the Arabian sea ports can use Chabahar port in Iran as a strategic gateway to Central Asia, including Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan, and further to Northern Europe via Iran and Russia.
- The INSTC significantly cuts transit times from India to Russia to around 25 days from the usual 45 days via the Suez Canal route and reduces freight costs by 30%.
