Islamabad, Aug 5 - A freight train link between Islamabad and Istanbul via Tehran is to be launched Aug 14, Pakistan's independence day.

The train will run from Islamabad's Margala Station to Istanbul's Haydarpasa Station via Tehran Station, APP news agency reported, quoting railway officials here.

Iran would provide trans-shipment facilities at its Zahedan station on the border with Balochistan.

For this, Iranian Railways would provide a train including empty wagons 30-60 minutes before the arrival of the train from Pakistan.

Similarly Pakistan Railways would provide a train including empty wagons 30-60 minutes before the arrival of a full container train from Tehran, the officials said.

The decision to start the train was taken at a trilateral Pakistan-Iran-Turkey meeting at Tehran March 1, 2009 that discussed some of the key projects needed to improve the capacity and speed of transit traffic in the region.