Where is the Kapıköy Border Gate and which cargo crosses into Iran?

One name, two separate gates

Kapıköy appears twice in the Ministry's border gate lists: once as a road gate and once as a rail gate. Both are run by the Kapıköy Customs Directorate, which reports to the Eastern Anatolia Regional Directorate of Customs and Foreign Trade; their counterpart in Iran is Razi. Because the two gates differ in the cargo they carry and in their history, they are treated separately in planning.

How does the rail gate work?

The Van–Sufian line starts at the Van pier on the eastern shore of Lake Van, crosses the border at Kapıköy, reaches Sufian in Iran via Razi and connects there to the Tabriz–Jolfa line. The line opened in 1971. Wagons coming from western Türkiye are loaded onto the Lake Van ferry at Tatvan and handed back to the railway on the opposite shore. The customs directorate handles wagons arriving from abroad and going to another country or an inland customs office, as well as domestic wagons sent abroad. Rail planning does not offer the same flexibility as road; wagon allocation and the ferry transfer add to the transit time.

What changed at the road gate?

The road gate opened on 16 April 2011; the renewed customs area was taken into use on 15 February 2019. The customs directorate's description of the road side lists passenger and vehicle entries and exits and imports and exports under border trade quotas. Until October 2026, truck crossings were one-way: only Iranian-registered trucks could enter through the gate, and Turkish trucks could not exit to Iran through it. At the Türkiye–Iran Joint Economic Commission meeting on 28 January 2025, the Minister of Trade said they expected the gate to be modernised and also opened to commercial crossings.

The change came in the last week of October 2026. On 27 October, the Van Chamber of Commerce and Industry announced that the Governorate of Iran's West Azerbaijan Province had reported that crossings by Turkish trucks had begun and that truck crossings had become reciprocal. This information is based on the chamber's statement and press reports; there is not yet a detailed Ministry announcement on permits, procedures and daily capacity. Before the first trips, it should therefore be confirmed with the Kapıköy Customs Directorate under which procedure (export, transit, border trade) the vehicle will be accepted.

The queue system on the Iranian side

Since 6 August 2026, Iran has applied an origin-based queue booking system at the border called "nobat". Obtaining a queue slot before the vehicle reaches the border, together with complete documents, reduces the risk of waiting. Changing gates also changes the booking and the office of exit in the transit documents, so the decision is made before departure. The reasons for congestion on the Iranian border are explained in the entry why trucks wait at Gürbulak.

Before sending a truck to Kapıköy

1. Determine the mode: Wagon cargo crosses at the rail gate, truck cargo at the road gate; their documents and transit times differ.
2. Ask whether the gate accepts the vehicle: Under the new arrangement, confirm the vehicle's procedure and registration with the customs directorate; without confirmation, Gürbulak–Bazargan is the default.
3. Prepare the documents: The documents required for exports to Iran and the Iranian transit permit are completed.
4. Enter the office of exit correctly: The office of exit in the transit or export declaration must be Kapıköy; changing gate later also changes the declaration.
5. Plan the road after Razi: From Razi the road descends towards Khoy and Tabriz; the queue booking and a back-up gate are decided before departure.

A comparison with the other gates is in the entry Türkiye–Iran border gates.

How does Voltim Global support you?

Since August 2026, Voltim Global has also been planning road shipments via Iran on the Akkuyu supply route. For Iran-bound work, gate selection, queue booking and documents are prepared together with contracted carriers and customs brokers; the vehicle is followed daily. Details are on the Türkiye–Iran road freight page.

Published: 14.11.2026 · Voltim Global