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Pakistan Launches First Freight Train Service to Russia (August 2025)

A new era in trade links between South and Central Asia will be ushered in by the new goods train, which will run from Lahore to Russia for Pakistan Russia trade 2025. The first train, with 16 waggons, will set out in August as part of a test run, passing through Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran before arriving in Russia. Abbasi said the new goods service is a part of a larger plan to modernise Pakistan Railways and increase earnings through increased logistics operations during a press conference on Tuesday in the Punjabi city of Multan.

A New Chapter in Pakistan–Russia Trade Relations

He claimed that as part of larger regional integration initiatives, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s goal to link Pakistan’s rail network with Central Asian nations, such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, is reflected in the project. The goods train will leave Lahore and travel 2,001 kilometers inside Pakistan before it reaches the Taftan crossing with Iran, an authoritative Pakistan Railways official said for Pakistan launches freight train to Russia.

By shipping fruit to Russia by land in March 2024, Pakistan accomplished a significant milestone in regional trade. After travelling almost 6,000 kilometres, 16 trucks from Pakistan’s National Logistics Corporation arrived in the Russian cities of Derbent and Grozny with oranges (Arab News, 2024a, 2024b).

A protocol of agreement (MoU) for cooperation between Pakistan Customs and Russia’s Federal Customs Service on the Pakistan Russia trade 2025 on Mutual Trade was also signed by Pakistan and the Russian Federation in June 2023 (The Express Tribune, 2023a, 2023b).

Benefits of the Freight Train Route

The fact that Mikhail visited Pakistan for the first time since 2007 is significant (The Express Tribune, 2024).   Russia is interested in working with Pakistan on major hydropower projects, such as the 4,500 MW Diamer-Bhasha Dam and the 2,160 MW Dasu projects. Given our geo economic environment, it is assumed that this kind of energy cooperation benefits both nations and might even promote constructive engagement in other fields, like artificial intelligence.

What This Means for Exporters

Michael Kugelman, an American foreign policy expert, also saw Russia cargo train Export goods from Pakistan to Russia as an attempt by the Global South to maintain a balance between its relations with the West and Moscow (Kugelman, 2023a, 2023b). The train will travel 2,300 kilometers on track from Lahore to the Taftan border of Iran.

Conclusion

It is a significant milestone for Pakistan’s foray into international logistics and guarantees the nation’s place on upcoming international freight routes. Improved tariff agreements might make the route more commercially viable.  Given the growing need for alternate trade routes, this corridor could help solidify Pakistan’s position in the international logistics community by rerouting the flow of goods between South Asia and the Russian Federation.

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