TEHRAN - In a ceremony attended by Transport and Urban Development Minister Rostam Qasemi, 413 new domestically-made locomotives and wagons worth over $35 million were added to the railway fleet of Iran on Sunday, IRIB reported.

In the mentioned ceremony, 407 freight wagons valued at 8.36 trillion rials (about $28.9 million) as well as seven locomotives worth 1.91 trillion rials (about $6.6 million) were added to the country’s railway fleet.

As reported, the produced freight wagons included various types of long-edge, short-edge, ballast, and grain wagons manufactured by Pars Wagon, Green Plour Industrial Group (GPIG), Arak Metil Steel Company, Iranian Rail Industries Development Company (IRICO) and Kowsar Isfahan Wagons.

The new and renovated locomotives were also produced by Mapna Group, Pars Wagon, and Karaj Locomotive Restoration Factories with the participation and investment of Mobarakeh Steel, Alborz Niro, Mapna, and the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (known as RAI).

Comprehensive plan underway to develop transit

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony of the mentioned fleet, Qasemi noted that his ministry was implementing a comprehensive plan for the development of transit through Iran, saying: “This plan will lead to the transformation of the country’s transportation sector in the next three years.”

Stressing the significant role of the railway industry in the country’s economic development, the minister said: “Iran has geopolitical privileges in the transportation sector, including access to open waters, which many countries do not benefit from.”

“In the past, we did not have relations with many neighboring countries such as Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, which are transit bottlenecks, but today, with the expansion of relations, Iran is recognized as a regional transit authority,” Qasemi stressed.

The official further noted that the Islamic Republic has reached very positive agreements with the countries of the region during Shanghai summit, which have become the basis of the country's transit transformation plan.

Number of vehicles added to railway fleet doubled in H1

Elsewhere in the ceremony, Head of Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (RAI) Miad Salehi said the number of wagons and locomotives added to the country’s railway fleet in the first half of the current year has increased by 100 percent compared to the previous year’s same time span.

According to Salehi, the railway industry has achieved this success despite the sanctions and difficult economic condition which is very admirable.

He mentioned the great potentials of the railway industry for investment, saying that RAI was seriously pursuing plans for facilitation of the presence of the private sector in the railway projects.

This was the second round of additions to the country’s railway fleet in the current Iranian calendar year (started on March 21).

Back in July, RAI had added 319 domestically-made wagons and locomotives including 305 new freight wagons, six newly-made locomotives, seven renovated passenger wagons, and a renovated locomotive to its fleet.

In total, the Iranian railway fleet has received 732 wagons and locomotives in the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-Septemeber 22).

EF/MA

Photo: Transport Minister Rostam Qasemi delivers speach at the unveiling ceremony of new railway fleet on Sunday.