TEHRAN – The national railway network is projected to be expanded by 838 kilometers in the current Iranian calendar year, which ends on March 20, 2018, IRNA quoted transport minister as saying.

Abbas Akhoundi made the remarks in the opening ceremony of the 5th International Exhibition of Rail Transportation, Related Industries and Equipment of Iran (RAILEXPO 2017) on Monday.

According to Akhoundi, more than 30,000 freight wagons are needed to develop the country’s rail fleet.

“To fulfill the country’s needs in railway transport we also need 3,000 passenger wagons and to achieve this goal we need precise planning,” he said.

The official further noted that connecting the country’s railway network to the neighboring countries’ rail networks is one of the most important goals of the ministry which has not been given the deserved attention so far. 

Also in the ceremony, Saeid Mohammadzadeh, the managing director of Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (IRIR), said all necessary measures are being taken to reduce the railway transport tariffs to zero.

The 5th International Exhibition of Rail Transportation, Related Industries and Equipment of Iran will run at the Tehran Permanent International Fairgrounds until Thursday.

EF/MA