Iran has chalked up an ambitious plan to modernise and set up a railway corridor linking the Gulf and the Subcontinent to the Central Asia at an investment of $25 billion, said a report.

The International North–South Transport Corridor between India, Russia, Iran, Europe and the Central Asia for freight transportation by ship, rail, and road will join the Silk Road, reported the Press TV.

Iran is spread over an area of more than 1.6 million sq km. However, its rail network accounts for only less than 11 per cent of the overall transportation, in which 33 million people are carried annually.

The new plan also includes expansion of its railway network from the present track length of 15,000 km to 25,000 km by 2025, stated the report citing a top official.

“We have defined about $25 billion of rail projects for which we have prepared incentive packages to attract domestic and foreign investment,” said Mohsen Poursaeed-Aqaei, the managing director of Iran Railways.

The push for investment comes amid growing international enthusiasm for trade with Tehran while the country seeks to profit from its coastlines in the Arabian Gulf and the Caspian to build an integrated transit route, he added.