TEHRAN - In a meeting at Management and Planning Organization of Iran on Monday, Transport and Urban Development Minister Abbas Akhoundi outlined the ministry’s programs for expansion of the country’s railway network.

As IRNA reported, the minister said 516 kilometers of railroad is going to be built by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2018).

According to the official, currently 400km of the mentioned 516 km has been constructed and the rest is under construction.

Akhoundi also mentioned the electrification of the country’s railways saying, “In this regard we are working on two main projects namely electrification of Tehran-Mashhad railway and also implementing the Tehran-Qom-Esfahan high-speed train project.”

Based on a report by IRNA, the minister also said that by the end of the Sixth Five-Year National Development Plan (March 2022), 21 provinces’ centers are planned to get connected to the national railway network.

EF/MA