Esfahan Steel Company will start producing rail by the end of the current Iranian year (March 19, 2016), with the aim of reducing reliance on imports amid growing need to expand railroad transportation, says Kheirollah Khademi, deputy head of Construction and Development of Transportation Infrastructures Company affiliated with the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development, Mehr News Agency reported on Monday. Two of the 80-article general policies outlined by the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei for the sixth five-year development plan (2016-21) emphasize the development of rail transport. Furthermore, based on the 20-Year National Vision Plan (2005-25), the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways plans to increase the number of passengers using rail transport from the current 25 million to 65 million per year.
