First Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul train arrives in Turkey

A freight train, which departed from Islamabad to test the newly established 6,500 km railway linking Pakistan, Iran and Turkey, arrived in eastern Turkey Tuesday, the semi-official reported. The railway line, which was recently completed linking Islamabad, Tehran and Istanbul, aims at connecting members states of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), according to the report.

ECO is an intergovernmental regional organization established in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey to boost cooperation. It currently holds 10 member states. The first freight train departed from Pakistan on Aug. 14 and stopped at Iranian capital of Tehran Sunday, and then arrived in Saray town in eastern Turkish Van province early Tuesday, said the report. A number of Turkish, Iranian and Pakistani railway officials were on the train, according to the report. The new railway connected Pakistan to Europe via Iran and Turkey, Turkish railway official Muhammed Atilcan was quoted as saying. The train journey from Islamabad to Istanbul takes about 13 days, while travelling from European countries to Pakistan via seaway needs almost 40 to 45 days. The Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul railway project comes amid efforts to boost economic cooperation among ECO member states. Besides Pakistan, Iran and Turkey, ECO members are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.