TEHRAN- Development of Iran’s railway requires $28 billion investment, Transport Minister Abbas Akhoundi announced on Saturday.

Saying that development of railway transportation is emphasized by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, the minister stated that not only does railway transportation lead to economizing on fuel consumption, it boosts safety as well.

He went on to say that securing the required $28 billion investment from the internal sources and governmental budget is difficult, so some special share from the National Development Fund (NDF) sources should be allocated to it.

Saeed Mohammadzadeh, the managing director of Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (known as RAI), is of the opinion that creation of competitive advantage is the key for railway development in Iran. 

In the general policies of the country, for example for preparing the five-year national development plans, railway has been always the main pivot when it comes to development of transportation, Mohammadzadeh said in a press conference in late October.

“Therefore, we, in all sectors, should try for creating some competitive advantage for the railway transportation in the country”, the official emphasized.

“Our duty is to make railway transportation competitive and being of service to the national economy”, he noted and reinforced his remarks by saying: “Railway transportation has a unique role in Resistance Economy.”

“In order to achieve the targets that the Sixth Five-Year National Development Plan (2016-2021) has set for us [20 percent and 30 percent shares in passenger and cargo transportation, respectively] we should follow up very serious, fast and specified plans”, Mohammadzadeh opined.

MA