The director general of Iran's North Railway Administration-2 has announced that rail freight exchanges in the sectors of exports, imports, and transit with the Republic of Azerbaijan increased by 33 percent from March to December 2023.

According to The Iran Project,Gholam-Hossein Valadi told that the interactions are being conducted via the Astara rail freight terminal. Over the course of the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2023, to December 21, 2023), the total rail-bound transportation amounted to 498,926 tons, indicating a 33% growth compared to the equal period in 2022, he said, adding that the volume of exchanges stood at 374,454 tons in the same period last year.

During the mentioned period of this year, some 136,324 tons of goods were exported to the Azerbaijan Republic via the Astara rail freight terminal, indicating a seven percent increase in comparison to the 126,985 tons exported over the same period last year, the official noted.

Valadi went on to say that in the last nine months, some 152,268 tons of merchandise were imported into the Islamic Republic of Iran via the Astara rail freight terminal, indicating a 63% surge compared to 93,160 tons of goods imported in the same period last year.