MOSCOW, November 5. /TASS/. Russia and Iran signed a package of documents on the Rasht - Astara railway line construction project, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Nikitin told reporters.

"A package of documents on the Rasht - Astara railway line construction project was formalized in Tehran. Russia’s Caspian Services and Iran’s CDTIC signed a protocol of granting access to land plots all over the route for advance engineering surveys, and a supplemental agreement to contract," Nikitin said.

The plots have already been transferred, he noted. Russian specialists built the backbone geodetic network and completed aerial surveys.

The Rasht-Astara section will connect the railway networks of Russia and Iran into a single system. It is a cornerstone element of the International North-South Transport Corridor, which will open a seamless route for the Persian Gulf and then to South Asian region.