The Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (abbreviated as IRIR, or sometimes as RAI, or as IRI Railway) () is the national state-owned railway system of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. The Raja Passenger Train Company is an associate of the IR, and manages its passenger trains. The Railway Transportation Company is an associate of the IR, which manages its freight transport. The

Ministry of Roads & Urban Development The Ministry of Roads and Urban Development (, ''Vezārat-e Rāh va Shahrsāzi'') is an Iranian government body in charge of providing and regulating the country's transport infrastructure (including roads, railroads, shipping lanes and airwa ...

is the state agency that oversees the IRIR. Some 33 million tonnes of goods and 29 million passengers are transported annually by the rail transportation network, accounting for 9 percent and 11 percent of all transportation in Iran, respectively (2011).

Operations

In 2008, the IR operated 11,106 km of rail with a further 18,900 km in various stages of development. Almost all of this is

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

of , but 94 km are

Russian gauge Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

of to link up to ex-Soviet Union

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

states. There is also the no-longer-isolated

Indian gauge (), also known as the Indian gauge is a broad track gauge, used in India, Pakistan, western Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Argentina, Chile, and on BART (San Francisco Bay Area). In North America, it is called Indian, Provincial, Portland, or Texas ga ...

section of from

Zahedan Zahedan (Balochi language, Balochi and ; ) is a city in the Central District (Zahedan County), Central District of Zahedan County, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, th ...

to the Pakistan border that continues to

Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...

and the Indian sub-continent. The extent of

double-track A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lin ...

lines is 1,082 km. The Jolfa–Tabriz line is electrified (148 km). In 2006, IR reported that it possessed 565 engines, 1,192 passenger coaches, and 16,330 wagons. The vast majority of the engines are

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine ...

-powered.

Affiliate companies

*''Raja Passenger Train Company'' is an associate of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (IRIR) and manages its passenger trains, including international trains linking Tehran to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

and

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. Raja Passenger Train Company carried more than 4 million passengers during 2003–05. The number of passengers traveling by rail increased from 11.7 million in 2000 to 17.3 million in the year ending March 2005. Every passenger wagon annually carries 7,340 passengers per kilometer on average (whereas the figure is 3,950 people per kilometer in Turkey and 5,220 passengers per kilometer in Egypt). Private enterprises are expected to operate 5,000

wagons A wagon (or waggon) is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draft animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...

by 2009 (50% of total). *''Railway Transportation Company'' is also a subsidiary of the IRIR which manages its freight transport while th
Ministry of Roads and Transportation
is the state agency that oversees the IRIR. In Iran, for every wagon, some 1,050 tons of freight are being transported (2008). *''Zarand Company'' provides the national railroad system with freight and passenger train carriages.

References

External links

Islamic Republic of Iran Railways Official Website

Iranian Rail Industries Development Co (IRICO) Official Website

Raja Rail Transport Company (Buying Iran Train Tickets) Website

Ministry of Roads & Urban Development Of Iran Official Website
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520190443/http://www.mrud.ir/ , date=20 May 2021 Railway companies of Iran Iranian brands Government-owned railway companies

Operations

Affiliate companies

See also

References

External links