Between Turkey and Iran, a new passenger rail service rolled out, according to Iran’s news agency.
This train which departed from Tehran at 9:30 A.M is scheduled to arrive in the eastern Turkish city of Van on Tuesday morning.
In Tabriz, the capital city of East Azerbaijan province, The train will stop midway at in northwestern Iran, Muhammed Recebi, general director of Iran’s Railway Transportation Company told Iranian Tasnim news agency. The train will depart for Tehran on the same day at 9 P.M from Van.
Once a week from Tehran to Van and vice versa, the train will operate.
Rail passenger service between Iran and Turkey was halted in 2015, due to assault by the PKK terrorist organization. It was restored on the Tabriz -Van line last year.
In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU — has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including children and women.
“The train services are key factors to develop tourism between Iran and Turkey,” Iran’s Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development Saeed Rasouli said.
Ahmet Arslan the Minister of Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communications also said earlier this month that the line “is landmark and important for our country and our region,” adding that Iranian visitors can travel across Turkey from Van.
