Van–Sufian railway

Due to the mountainous terrain between Kurtalan and Tatvan, the route was changed and its western starting became Elazığ.

CENTO sponsored a railway line, some of which was completed, to enable a rail connexion between London and Tehran via Van.

The Van-Sufian railway from Lake Van in Turkey to Sharafkhaneh in Iran was completed and funded in large part by the Central Treaty Organisation (mainly the UK).

The last passenger rail service in Turkey was suspended in July 2015, due to safety concerns regarding the Kurdish–Turkish conflict.

Prior to suspension of passenger rail, the Trans-Asian Express used the railway between 2001 and 2015 on its journey from Istanbul, later Ankara, to Tehran.