The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a multi-modal transportation network that integrates ship, rail, and road routes for moving freight. This concept/scheme is approximately 7,200 km long and links the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea and Northern Europe. The agreement to create the INSTC was signed on September 12, 2000, in St. Petersburg, by the founding member states: India, Russia, and Iran. The corridor was conceived to provide a strategic alternative to the traditional route via the Suez Canal, aiming to be about 40% shorter and 30% cheaper, reducing the transit time for goods between India and Russia from 40-60 days to 20-25 days.
The INSTC mechanism operates through three main axes: the Western Corridor (Russia-Azerbaijan-Iran-India), the Middle or Trans-Caspian route (Russia-Iran-India), and the Eastern Corridor (Russia-Central Asia-Iran-India). A key provision involves the policy and legal harmonization of transport policies and customs procedures among member states to ensure seamless cross-border operations. The initial three signatories have been joined by 10 other member countries, including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Oman, bringing the total to 13. The INSTC is also related to the Ashgabat Agreement, a multimodal transport agreement.
The corridor is a constantly evolving project. Recently, the Eastern Corridor has seen increased focus, with Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran signing an “Eastern Corridor Roadmap” in 2024 to synchronously develop the route. A critical ongoing development is the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway line in Iran, which is the missing link in the Western Corridor and is expected to enable the transportation of at least 15 million tonnes of cargo annually.