TEHRAN - Iranian Transport Minister Mohammad Eslami said the country will become a major rail track producer in the region in near future, IRNA reported.

Mentioning the hand-over of the first domestically-manufactured rail tracks (known as National Rail) to Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (known as RAI), Eslami said moving toward self-sufficiency in this sector is a must and delivery of the first cargo of the National Rail has been a big achievement in this regard.

The official who is visiting Isfahan Province along with the Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Reza Rahmani, noted that the first rail tack cargo has been distributed to be used in rail projects across the country.

Back in June 2018, the director general of Esfahan Steel Company (ESCO) announced that the first domestically-manufactured rail tracks were handed over to RAI, saying the rails complied with the latest global standards. 

The consignment contained 500 tons of U33 rail tracks which are produced according to the latest global standards including engineering standards EN13674.  

In November 2016, ESCO signed a contract with RAI to produce 40,000 tons of U33 rails, and consequently launched its rail production line with €28.2 million plus 573 billion rials (about $13.6 million) of investment.

Iran’s sixth five-year economic development plan (2016-21) stresses, among other things, the need to develop the rail transport network.

According to the country’s former transport minister Abbas Akhoundi, Iran needs to build 1,500 kilometers of railroads, for which it needs 1.8 million tons of rails.

The Islamic Republic of Iran Railways says Iran needs an average of 300,000-400,000 tons of rails per year to meet the needs of this key transport sector.

EF/MA