In 2023, Russia and Iran signed an agreement on the intention to build the 162-km Rasht-Astara railway line – the only missing link in the process of creating the western route of INSTC. The project provides for ₹1.3 billion Russian allotment to Iran. The project, estimated at ₹1.6 billion, is scheduled to be completed by 2028.
INSTC is the shortest possible trade route linking Mumbai with St Petersburg. It so far contains three main routes. First, the Trans-Caspian route through the ports of Astrakhan, Olya and Makhachkala in Russia and the ports of Bandar Anzali, Amirabad and Nowshahr in Iran. The second is the eastern route along the existing railway line through Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran. Some consignments to India came via this route from eastern Russia. The third is the western route, which extends from Astrakhan through Samur across Azerbaijan to the Astara station and through Iran via the under-construction Astara-Rasht-Qazvin line. Azerbaijan is working on operationalising the route via its territory, which takes the shortest possible time between Mumbai and St Petersburg.
The Azerbaijan route is the original route of the three INSTC routes for India-Russia trade via Iran, but Azerbaijan has been slow in boosting infrastructure. Uzbekistan is also keen to harness the full potential of INSTC as well as the Chabahar Port.