Rail Transportation Impeded by Severe Shortage of Locomotives

Around half of Iran’s 950 locomotives are out of order and, according to Minister of Roads and Urban Development Rostam Qasemi, there is a severe shortage of rail freight fleet.
“We need close to 1,000 more locomotives for our 14,000 kilometers of railroads. If this amount is procured, we can reach transit figures of up to 20 million tons per year, which can bring in more than $20 billion in revenues for the country,” Qasemi was quoted as saying by the Persian daily Shargh.
The problem, he added, is that local companies do not have the capacity to supply locomotives and the manufacture of 1,000 locomotives will take Iranian manufacturers around 15 years.