MOSCOW, July 3. /TASS/. Russian Railways is ready to develop the transportation of Russian grain to Iran along the North-South international transport corridor (ITC), CEO Oleg Belozerov said.

"We are ready to develop the transportation of Russian grain to Iran. The dynamics of transportation in January - June is positive. Sixty-five thousand tons of grain were transported through Astara to Iran, which is more than four times higher than in the same period last year," the chief executive said, cited in the Russian Railways channel on Max.

The company also signed a trilateral protocol with Iran and Azerbaijan, according to which the parties will continue to strengthen the commercial attractiveness of the North-South ITC route. The countries also agreed to create a "digital corridor" by synchronizing data exchange systems and switching to paperless transportation technology.

"We see signs of an increase in cargo transportation through Astara in June. 555 TEUs [20 ft container equivalent - TASS] were transported (3.5% more than in the same period last year) and 47.5 thousand tons of cargo (this is a 50% increase)," Belozerov added.