A total of 70 domestically-made and overhauled rolling stock worth 73 billion rials ($2.88 million) recently joined Iran’s rail fleet.
The additions included newly-manufactured 59 freight and 2 passenger wagons as well as 9 renovated locomotives, the news portal of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development reported.
Wagon Pars Company, Kowsar Wagon Company, Derakhshan Steel Company, Polour-e-Sabz and Iranian Rail Industries Development Company (IRICO) were engaged in the production of rolling stock, besides major locomotive overhauling companies in Tehran and Yazd Province’s Bafq County.
The National Iranian Copper Industry Company, Tejarat Kushesh Sepahan Company, General Mechanic Company, Azar Kia Trading Company, Raja Railway Transport Company and IRIR were the main investors in the project.
The newly-added fleet will create 193 jobs in the country’s rail sector.
A ceremony on Sept. 7 to mark the induction was attended by Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami and the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways, Saeed Rasouli.
Overall, 329 locomotives as well as passenger and cargo wagons worth 5.67 trillion rials ($22.39 million) have been added to Iran's rail fleet since the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 20), showing a 52% increase compared with the similar period of last year.
Rasouli said during the ceremony that Iranian rail transport companies have placed orders with domestic companies for a total of 8,077 units of rolling stock, ILNA reported.
Eslami told Mehr News Agency that the government plans to produce and overhaul 2,000 units of rolling stock by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2021).
To achieve this goal, the ministry has issued permits for passenger wagon manufacturers to also produce cargo wagons, he added.
IRIR has signed a contract with IRICO for the rolling stock manufacturer to overhaul locomotives and wagons as part of the plan to achieve the target.
Founded in 2003, IRICO is an Iranian manufacturer of passenger rolling stock. The company is headquartered in Tehran and has a factory in Zanjan Province’s Abhar County where it designs and manufactures various types of rolling stock such as passenger coaches, metro cars, diesel multiple units and various freight wagons in accordance with the standards of the International Union of Railways.
Eslami has told Fars News Agency that a total of 788 locally-made rolling stock worth 12.7 trillion rials ($55.46 million) joined the Iranian rail system in the fiscal 2019-20, adding that the government aims to increase this figure by 45% by the end of the current year (March 2021).
The official has said that in meeting domestic demand for wagons and locomotives, the government is giving priority to local manufacturers and their production capacity.
With the aim of reducing road traffic and battling air pollution, the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development has placed the development of Iran’s rail sector on top of its agenda.
Iran’s Sixth Five-Year Development Plan (2017-22) has tasked the government with increasing the share of rail in cargo and passenger transportation to 30% and 20% respectively by the end of the plan.
The minister said on Monday that before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the share of rail in cargo transportation stood at 13% and estimated that the figure will rise to 15% by the fiscal yearend. The share of rail in passenger transportation currently stands at 8%.
