"Russian Railways" (RZD) has a positive attitude to the idea of reviving the Moscow-Ashgabat (Russia-Turkmenistan) passenger route, which was cancelled in 1993 at the initiative of the Turkmen side.
This was told to journalists by the Deputy Head of the International Cooperation Department of RZD, Lyudmila Renne, on the sidelines of the meeting of the Conference of General Directors of Railways of the member countries of the Organisation for Cooperation of Railways (OSJD) held in Ashgabat.
According to her words, quoted by the TASS news agency, "the Turkmen side has very actively joined the OSJD and now occupies almost leading positions in terms of participation in agreements and contracts".
Earlier it was reported that RZD was planning to open its representative office in Turkmenistan. Under the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Turkmen side in 2021, the company offered its technologies with the possibility of localising the production of some units and assemblies in the country's enterprises.
The list of projects under discussion now includes the launch of a new Ashgabat-Arkadag railway line, which will carry an electric passenger train, and the reconstruction of a wagon repair plant in Kyzyl-Arvat.
Turkmenistan joined the North-South International Transport Corridor (NSC) last year, which has been promoted by Russia, India and Iran since 2000. The two sides are holding talks on developing transport along its eastern route and implementing a number of infrastructure initiatives.
Eziz Boyarov
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