TEHRAN – The Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (IRIR) has reached agreement with a domestic company over the building of 200 passenger carriages for the national network.

The project is expected to end within 40 months, a report said on Tuesday, adding that a domestic company in collaboration with a Romanian firm has undertaken to carry out the €130 million project.

A number of officials, including Mehdi Mofidi, the head of the Industrial Development and Renovation Organization (IDRO) were present at the signing ceremony.

Commenting on a number of issues facing Iran’s rail transportation network, the official said the country is still in the beginning of the road.

He added that unfortunately there is only one kilometer of railway for every 10,000 Iranian people while the figure in the developed countries stands at one kilometer for every 500 people.

“On average, we are currently in need of some 5,000 train carriages so that we would be able to meet the world standards in the rail sector, providing a suitable opportunity for investment in this area.”