TEHRAN - The 10th International Exhibition of Rail Transportation, Related Industries and Equipment of Iran was opened at the Tehran Permanent International Fairgrounds in a ceremony on Tuesday, the portal of the Transport Ministry reported.

The opening ceremony was attended by senior officials including Transport and Urban Development Minister Mehrdad Bazrpash and the Head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (known as RAI) Miad Salehi.

As reported, more than 100 companies are participating in this four-day event which is aimed at presenting the capabilities of Iranian companies, as well as indigenizing the rail industry equipment and familiarizing the country's producers with the most advanced equipment and methods in this field.

Speaking to the press on the sidelines of the opening ceremony, Bazrpash announced a plan for increasing the number of the country’s railway transportation fleet, saying that “in the next year, a significant number of wagons and locomotives will enter the country's railway network.”

“The domestic market of the country has a high demand for railway equipment and many companies can enter this market; we are facing the limitation of wagons and locomotives in the cargo and passenger sector,” the minister said.

Rai Head also delivered a speech at the opening ceremony saying that his company has serious plans for the development of rail transportation in the country.

“We recorded the highest level of passenger transportation through the railway network in the first six months of the current year, however, this is not enough and we continue our efforts to improve the railway industry,” he said.

According to the official, major knowledge-based companies active in the freight railway transportation sector are also having a strong presence in the exhibition this year.

It should be mentioned that last month the Iranian railway fleet received 346 new domestically-made wagons and locomotives worth 10.09 trillion rials (about $20.63 million) in a ceremony attended by Miad Salehi.

As reported, of the mentioned 346 wagons and locomotives, 339 were freight wagons, two were locomotives, and five were passenger wagons.

The mentioned wagons and locomotives have been all manufactured by domestic companies and firms including Mapna Group, Pars Wagon, Kowsar Wagon Complex, and Green Polour Industrial Group.

The number of locomotives and wagons added to the country’s railway fleet since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21) has increased by eight percent compared to the previous year’s same period.

The development of the railway sector has been one of the macro policies of the Iranian government as it has been emphasized by the general policies of the country’s national development plans.

In this regard, the national railway fleet has constantly received new domestically-made locomotives and wagons in the past and current Iranian calendar years.

Last year, a total of 1,660 wagons and locomotives were added to the country’s railway fleet in four stages.

Advantages such as consuming less fuel and creating less pollution as well as high safety attach priority to the railway when compared to some other transportation systems, and make its development economically viable.

EF/MA

Photo: Transport Minister Mehrdad Bazrpash (C) and RAI Head Miad Salehi (L) cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony of 10th Intl. Railway Exhibition in Tehran on Tuesday