ISLAMABAD: Russia and Pakistan are working together to launch the first freight rail service on the Moscow-Faisalabad and Moscow-Karachi routes, Russian Ambassador to Pakistan Albert Khorev has said.
The proposed rail service is aimed at strengthening trade and transport connectivity between Russia and Pakistan and could provide businesses with an additional route for moving commercial goods between the two countries.
In this regard, Ambassador Albert Khorev made the announcement in an interview with Russian newspaper Izvestia, where he was asked about reports regarding a possible pilot freight rail service between Russia and Pakistan through the Minsk-Moscow-Karachi corridor.
The Russian ambassador said Moscow was working with its Pakistani partners to launch the first freight train services in both directions on the Moscow-Faisalabad and Moscow-Karachi routes.
He said the possibility of involving Belarus in the project was also being considered, indicating that the proposed initiative could eventually develop into a broader regional freight connectivity arrangement.
He said the two sides were currently working to overcome the remaining procedural and commercial issues and were in the process of finalising an agreement related to freight transportation services.
The parties are also identifying companies in the countries along the proposed route that could be interested in transporting their commercial goods through the planned rail corridor, Khorev said.
The proposed Moscow-Faisalabad and Moscow-Karachi freight connections are expected to facilitate the movement of goods and strengthen economic and trade links between Pakistan and Russia.
The initiative also reflects growing efforts by the two countries to expand bilateral economic cooperation through improved transport and logistics infrastructure.
The development comes as Pakistan and Russia continue to explore new avenues for increasing bilateral trade and regional connectivity. A functional freight rail link could provide exporters and importers with an alternative transportation route and potentially improve the efficiency of cargo movement between the two markets.
The involvement of Belarus could further broaden the scope of the proposed corridor by connecting additional markets to the planned freight network.
However, the project remains at the preparatory stage, with the finalisation of freight service agreements and identification of interested commercial operators still underway.
