Railway electrification in Iran describes the past and present electrification systems used to supply traction current to

rail transport in Iran Iran has a state-owned railway system built to standard gauge (1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in)) which falls under the remit of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development (Iran), Ministry of Roads & Urban Development. The primary rail carrier is the Is ...

with a chronological record of development, a list of lines using each system, and a history and a technical description of each system. The project is sometimes abbreviated to RAIELEC, in which ''

RAI (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...

'' is the abbreviation of

Islamic Republic of Iran Railways 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. The Raja Passenger Train Company is an associate of the IR, and manages its passenger t ...

( Persian: برقی کردن راه آهن در ایران, abbr: بكرا).

Early electrification: Tabriz-Jolfa

After initial negotiations in 1969,

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

electrification in Iran started in 1975, with a contract with

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

to electrify the

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

to Jolfa route in East Azarbaijan Province near the border with the former

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. The work would include a

Bogie exchange A bogie ( ) (or truck in North American English) comprises two or more wheelsets (two wheels on an axle), in a frame, attached under a vehicle by a pivot. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transport. A bogie may remain normally ...

facility. The Tabriz-Jolfa line was originally established in 1916 (before the main network in 1938) with the wide gauge and was changed to standard gauge after connection of Tabriz to the national network. Tabriz-Jolfa is a single line

rail track Railway track ( and UIC terminology) or railroad track (), also known as permanent way () or "P way" ( and Indian English), is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers (railroad ties in American E ...

146 km long with nine stations in between. The maximum grade is 2.8% and the minimum curve radius is 400m. The catenary voltage is 25 kV with booster transformer. Three substations exist: in Tabriz, Marand and Jolfa with 4 or 3 single phase transformers from Alstom each having 15 MW of capacity supplying the power. The 8 locomotives used on this line with Bo-Bo configuration have been built by ASEA from Sweden based on RC4 type from

SJ Rc The Rc class is the most used electric locomotive in Sweden. Built by Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA), the Rc is a universal locomotive used both in freight and passenger trains. The largest operator is Green Cargo, although S ...

family.

Electrification specification

The electric line voltage is 25 kV, 50 Hz, (

25 kV AC railway electrification Railway electrification systems using alternating current (AC) at are used worldwide, especially for high-speed rail. It is usually supplied at the standard utility frequency (typically 50 or 60Hz), which simplifies traction substations. The dev ...

) with substations in Tabriz, Marand and Jolfa fed by 132 kV from the national grid. The end substations have three 15MW

transformer In electrical engineering, a transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple Electrical network, circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces ...

and the Marand substation has four transformers.

Track specification

Track specifications in current and planned electrified lines in Iran are as follows:

Operational information

Recent projects

Pilot projects

Recently another contract was signed with the Russian railway RZD in February 2009 to connect the

electric line to

Azarshahr Azarshahr () is a city in Howmeh District of Azarshahr County, East Azerbaijan province, 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, ...

to the south with a length of 46 km single track with 140 km/h speed that was inaugurated in 2012 Oct. 13th. Continuing the line to

Bonab Bonab () is a city in the Central District of Bonab County, East Azerbaijan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Bonab is 120 km south of Tabriz (the capital of the province), near Lake Urmia. The c ...

and

Maragheh Maragheh () is a city in the Central District (Maragheh County), Central District of Maragheh County, East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Maragheh is on the bank of ...

and possibly to

Urmia Urmia (; ) is the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran. In the Central District of Urmia County, it is capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is situated near the borders of Iran with Turkey and Iraq. ...

through the Shahid Kalantary bridge is planned. The bridge has the rail track integrated, like Oresund Bridge. The existing electric line could be connected to Oroumieh and Maragheh. Also

Shabestar Shabestar () is a city in the Central District of Shabestar County, East Azerbaijan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Shabestar, with an altitude of 1,400 meters, is located in the southern foothills ...

and

Salmas Salmas () is a city in the Central District of Salmas County, West Azerbaijan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. It is northwest of Lake Urmia, near Turkey. Etymology The original name of Salmas was ...

, relying on existing facilities and locomotives will be electrified. On the northern route it is planned to connect Soofian to

and

Main project

A tender for electrification of the

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

Mashhad Mashhad ( ; ), historically also known as Mashad, Meshhed, or Meshed in English, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. ...

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 li ...

line, would supply 70 electric locomotives with

cab signaling Cab signalling is a railway safety system that communicates track status and condition information to the cab, crew compartment or driver's compartment of a locomotive, railcar or multiple unit. The information is continually updated giving an ...

that will increase the speed to 200 km/h for passenger car trains and 250 km/h for

tilting train A tilting train is a train that has a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular rail tracks. As a train (or other vehicle) rounds a curve at speed, objects inside the train experience centrifugal force. This can cause packages to slide about ...

s like

Talgo Talgo (officially Patentes Talgo, SAU) is a Spanish manufacturer of intercity, standard, and high-speed passenger trains. Talgo is an abbreviation of ''Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol'' (English: ''Lightweight articulated train Goicoech ...

. Electric trains will reduce the existing journey time from 12 hours down to 6 hours and Multiple Train Units (EMUs) from existing 8 hours to less than 5 hours. The line is equipped with

Optical fiber An optical fiber, or optical fibre, is a flexible glass or plastic fiber that can transmit light from one end to the other. Such fibers find wide usage in fiber-optic communications, where they permit transmission over longer distances and at ...

communication and CTC center for

railway signal A railway signal is a visual display device that conveys instructions or provides warning of instructions regarding the driver's authority to proceed. The driver interprets the signal's indication and acts accordingly. Typically, a signal migh ...

. This project as well as electrification and locomotives, also includes

SCADA SCADA (an acronym for supervisory control and data acquisition) is a control system architecture comprising computers, networked data communications and graphical user interfaces for high-level supervision of machines and processes. It also cove ...

, 5 years maintenance, and back up

power generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery ( transmission, distribution, etc.) to end users or its stora ...

. The contract includes dual mode vehicles for maintenance. A ceremonial construction start for the Tehran-Mashhad electrification took place on 1 February 2012. The completion is expected in 2014.

Second passenger projects

It is planned to expand electrification to the northwest up to the existing line at Tabriz (with 200 km/h speed for passenger trains and 250 for tilting EMU or trains like

Railjet Railjet is a high-speed rail service in Europe operated by Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and Czech Railways (ČD). Branded as ''Railjet Express'' (RJX category) for the fastest services and as ''Railjet'' (RJ) for services with additional s ...

) that is part of

Silk Road The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...

and the transit route from

Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...

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

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

to Istanbul as one of main task and objectives of ECO

Economic Cooperation Organization The Economic Cooperation Organization or ECO is a Eurasian political and economic intergovernmental organization that was founded in 1985 in Tehran by the leaders of Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey. It provides a platform to discuss ways to improve ...

and one of the emphasized routes of ESCAP

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

. The first phase of this project will be from Tehran to Zanjan to make it more economic and also to prepare the new under construction includes straightening the route from Tabriz to Mianeh that will decrease the distance from Tehran to Tabriz about 100 km and for this stepwise plan dual mode or

Electro-diesel locomotive An electro-diesel locomotive (also referred to as a dual-mode or bi-mode locomotive) is a type of locomotive that can be powered either from an electricity supply (like an electric locomotive) or by using the onboard diesel engine (like a dies ...

could help justifying the project. Recent inauguration of a 4 track '

cut and cover A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

' 9 km railway line in Tehran west railway to Tabriz has made the project more feasible. In the beginning of 2012 a 5-member consortium was formed and proposed to do the project as

BOT Bot or BOT may refer to: Sciences Computing and technology * Chatbot, a computer program that converses in natural language * Internet bot, a software application that runs automated tasks (scripts) over the Internet **Spambot, an internet bot ...

base.

Future projects

Effects on stations

The layout of stations in Iran such as Tehran and Mashhad

train station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing suc ...

s will be affected by electrification. The

railway platform A railway platform is an area in a train station alongside a railway Track (rail transport), track providing convenient access to trains. Almost all stations have some form of platform, with larger stations having multiple platforms. Grand Cen ...

in other stations could be extended in the future.

Locomotive

Existing Electric locomotives

The locomotives in Tabriz-Jolfa has been built by ASEA based on Sweden type RC4 from

family with 3600 KW and 100 km/h. Eight units are in operation. The locomotives in Tehran-Karaj metro is TM1, TM2, TM3 similar to SS8 with 3200 KW and 140 km/h from

Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Works CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd. is one of the electric locomotive manufacturers in China. It is one of the subsidiaries of CRRC. History Predecessor Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Works was founded in 1936. CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., ...

, China, counting for 56 units.

New locomotive specification

Passenger locomotives (''type Bo′Bo′ according to

UIC classification of locomotive axle arrangements The UIC classification of locomotive axle arrangements, sometimes known as the German classification''The Railway Data File''. Leicester: Silverdale, 2000. p. 52. . or German system,Kalla-Bishop P.M. & Greggio, Luciano, ''Steam Locomotives'', Cr ...

)'' shall provide a continuous

tractive effort In railway engineering, the term tractive effort describes the pulling or pushing capability of a locomotive. The published tractive force value for any vehicle may be theoretical—that is, calculated from known or implied mechanical proper ...

of more than 240 kN, freight locomotives (''Co′Co′'') more than 480 kN and all weather adhesion shall be at least 33%. Passenger locomotives shall be equipped to provide

head end power In rail transport, head-end power (HEP), also known as electric train supply (ETS), is the electrical power distribution system on a passenger train. The power source, usually a locomotive (or a generator car) at the front or 'head' of a train, ...

(HEP) to the train. The locomotive

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...

shall be available 6 months before inauguration to allow for the

homologation Homologation (Greek language, Greek ''homologeo'', ὁμολογέω, "to agree") is the granting of approval by an official authority. This may be a court of law, a government department, or an academic or professional body, any of which would n ...

phase. A

mockup In manufacturing and design, a mockup, or mock-up, is a scale or full-size model of a design or device, used for teaching, demonstration, design evaluation, promotion, and other purposes. A mockup may be a ''prototype'' if it provides at lea ...

and

pilot experiment A pilot experiment, pilot study, pilot test or pilot project is a small-scale preliminary study conducted to evaluate feasibility, duration, cost, adverse events, and improve upon the study design prior to performance of a full-scale research pr ...

for

EMU The emu (; ''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is a species of flightless bird endemism, endemic to Australia, where it is the Tallest extant birds, tallest native bird. It is the only extant taxon, extant member of the genus ''Dromaius'' and the ...

s could be used to expedite the accepting process.

Common platform locomotive

One of the major bottleneck to start operation of an electrified line in countries like Iran with rare electric track is to use the concept of a Common platform locomotive like

TRAXX Alstom Traxx (sold as Bombardier TRAXX before 2021) is a modular product platform of mainline diesel-electric and electric locomotives. It was produced originally by Bombardier Transportation and later Alstom, and was built in both freight an ...

from Bombardier that makes the supply phase faster and more cost effective. This capability has been considered in Iranian Railways AD43C that is originally diesel electric but can be converted to electric locomotive. This capability has not been considered in

IranRunner The IranRunner, also known as the ER24PC and Iran Safir is a single cab diesel electric passenger locomotive manufactured by the Mapna Locomotive Engineering and Manufacturing Company and Siemens. History and design In 2006 Siemens, Mapna and the ...

Dual mode locomotive

Another solution is using dual mode locomotives for stepwise electrification.

Locomotive approval test

The locomotive test and approval, homologation would be done according to RAI, UIC, AAR, TTCI

Transportation Technology Center The Transportation Technology Center (TTC) is a railroad equipment testing and training facility located northeast of Pueblo, Colorado, owned by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). It was built in 1971 as the High Speed Ground Test Center ...

and like

SNCF Class BB 75000 The SNCF BB 75000 (also known as the SNCF BB 475000) are 4 axle, Bo′Bo′, diesel electric locomotives ordered in 2000 by SNCF for freight operations to renew its aging fleet. The locomotives are also classified as Prima DE30BAC They are simil ...

Tendering process

The initial study was done by RAI vice president for planning and international affairs in 2003 specially by calculating the benefit of electrification in locomotive saving in long passenger trains that was argued by the railway research center MATRAI. After convincing the top managers and management and planning organization (MPO), it was approved by the government to make a

feasibility study A feasibility study is an assessment of the practicality of a project or system. A feasibility study aims to objectively and rationally uncover the strengths and weaknesses of an existing business or proposed venture, opportunities and threats pr ...

for electrification and this was accepted by the parliament in 2007. The study was carried out by a joint of

Metra Metra is the primary commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 243 train station, stati ...

and Italferr according to

United Nations Industrial Development Organization The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in e ...

(UNIDO) and

FIDIC The International Federation of Consulting Engineers (commonly known as FIDIC, acronym for its French name ''Fédération Internationale Des Ingénieurs-Conseils'') is an international standards organization for construction technology and consul ...

recommendations and Tehran—Mashhad was assigned as the first priority for being electrified. After this phase the

tendering An invitation to tender (ITT, also known as a call for bids or a request for tenders) is a formal, structured procedure for generating competing offers from different potential suppliers or contractors looking to obtain an award of business activ ...

pre-qualification In general, to pre-qualify is about passing or meeting an initial criteria or requirements before getting other opportunities opened up to such a person. Pre-qualification is a process whereby a loan officer takes information from a borrower and ...

was prepared by a new

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

of Metra and

Systra SYSTRA is a multinational engineering and consulting group in the mobility sector, whose fields of activity include rail and public transport. SYSTRA employs about 10,300 people worldwide, and is a limited company which shareholders include Fr ...

and the request for proposal (RFP) was released with conceptual design and by result obligations.

Electrification history

Although railway electrification in Iran was started in 1975 it grounded down to a halt and stayed so 30 years. A contract for electrification of the Tehran-Mashhad double-track line and the supply of 70 electric locomotives was awarded in 2009. Speeds of up to 200 km/h for locomotive-hauled passenger trains and 250 km/h for tilting EMUs will reduce existing journey times of 7.5 to 12 to less than 5 hours.

Tehran Metro line 5

One of the Electric railways in Iran is Line 5 of metro that uses 25 KV OCS and is operated by

Tehran Metro Tehran Metro () is a rapid transit system serving Tehran, the capital of Iran. It is the largest metro system in the Middle East. The system is owned and operated by Tehran Urban and Suburban Railway. It consists of six operational metro lines ...

. On 7 March 1999, an overland Tehran-Karaj express electric train started a limited service of 31.4 km between Azadi Square (Tehran) and Malard (Karaj) calling at one intermediate station at Vardavard. The line was constructed by the Chinese company

NORINCO China North Industries Group Corporation Limited, doing business internationally as Norinco Group (an abbreviation of "North Industries Corporation"), and known within China as China Ordnance Industries Group Corporation Limited (), is a Chinese ...

. Double-deck passenger cars for the Tehran-Karaj commuter line are supplied by CNTIC and assembled by the Wagon Pars factory in Arak. Locomotives of this line is similar to SS8 and has been supplied by CSR

Electrification projects

A brief study was done to prepare a

Comprehensive planning Comprehensive planning is an ordered process that determines community goals and aspirations in terms of community development. The end product is called a comprehensive plan, also known as a general plan, or master plan. This resulting document ...

for electrification development in RAI.

Proposals

Comprehensive Transport Study of Iran

Parallel to the dynamic and flexible policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding socio-economic development plan, Comprehensive Transportation Studies of Iran Comprehensive Transportation Studies of Iran (CTSI), has been implemented to design an optimum and multilateral transportation system best in order to satisfy economical and secure movement of goods and passengers. The overall target of this plan is to prepare a program including reports and studies that comprises the main strategies for leading the Islamic Republic of Iran’s transportation system as well as determining the priorities of allocating resources by considering the existing policies, criteria, necessities and priorities. Hence, the CTSI project is planned for achieving an optimum transportation system based on betterment of current situation and presenting investment priorities of transportation infrastructures in a twenty-year outlook in order to provide means for economical and secure movement of goods and passengers with a constant view to economic, social and cultural development plan policies of country.

Freight projects

On the

freight In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in ...

corridor, the electrification of Bafgh— Bandarabbas in

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

is planned as a Build-Operate-Transfer project with future continuation to Tehran and

Intermodal freight transport Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation (e.g., rail, ship, aircraft, and truck), without any handling of the freight itself when changing ...

at both ends (like

Betuweroute The Betuweroute is a double track Freight rail transport, freight railway between Rotterdam and Germany. is the official name, after the Betuwe area through which the route passes. The line is popularly called Betuwelijn, after an older local ...

) plus a

Classification yard A classification yard (American English, as well as the Canadian National Railway), marshalling yard (British, Hong Kong, Indian, and Australian English, and the former Canadian Pacific Railway) or shunting yard (Central Europe) is a railway y ...

. Bandar Abbas is close to Gheshm Island that has 100 km length and could be connected by

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

. This line might also transport oil.

Iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

is one of the main commodities on this line, especially from Golgohar mine near

Sirjan Sirjan (; ) is a city in the Central District of Sirjan County, Kerman province, in the south of Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. The city is from the Iranian capital of Tehran, and from the provincial capita ...

, Choghart and Chadormaloo near Bafgh to

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

for two

steel plant A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-finish ...

s and

steel mill A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-fini ...

s named Zobahan (Esfahan Steel Company) and

Mobarakeh Mobarakeh () is a city in the Central District of Mobarakeh County, Isfahan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Demographics Population At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was ...

. As the rail connection with Zahedan will be inaugurated in near future, it will make it possible to have a direct transit line from

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

possibly with

variable gauge Variable gauge systems allow railway vehicles to travel between two railways with different track gauges. Vehicles are equipped with variable gauge axles (VGA). The gauge is altered by driving the train through a gauge changer installed at the b ...

bogie A bogie ( ) (or truck in North American English) comprises two or more Wheelset (rail transport), wheelsets (two Railroad wheel, wheels on an axle), in a frame, attached under a vehicle by a pivot. Bogies take various forms in various modes ...

s and could be completed with a link to

Chabahar Chabahar ( (); ) is a city in the Central District (Chabahar County), Central District of Chabahar County, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. It is ...

port in the south east of the country. The

business plan A business plan is a formal written document containing the goals of a business, the methods for attaining those goals, and the time-frame for the achievement of the goals. It also describes the nature of the business, background information on ...

to justify the electrification and supplying locomotives is going to be prepared.

Electrification investment

Transport demand is increased more than

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performance o ...

in freight and less than it in passenger sector, and it is essential to provide appropriate means for transport by investing in infrastructures. Multiple structures have been considered, including

similar to

Taiwan High Speed Rail Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) is a high-speed railway network in Taiwan, which consists of a single line that runs approximately along the western coast of the island, from the capital Taipei in the north to the southern city of Kaohsiung. Its c ...

as a Public-private partnership(PPP) type investment. as well as high speed trains investment to buy AGV by Italian company

Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori is an Italian open-access train operating company operating in the field of high-speed rail transport under the brand name Italo (), stylized as ''.italo''. Commencing services in early 2012, it became Europe's first private open access operat ...

(NTV).

Transit-oriented development In urban planning, transit-oriented development (TOD) is a type of Real estate development, urban development that maximizes the amount of Residential area, residential, business and leisure space within Pedestrian, walking distance of public t ...

(TOD) is also an approach that could be used mainly from urban areas in railway stations.

Pacific Railroad Acts The Pacific Railroad Acts of 1862 were a series of acts of Congress that promoted the construction of a "transcontinental railroad" (the Pacific Railroad) in the United States through authorizing the issuance of government bonds and the grants ...

is a good benchmark for encouraging private sector for investment in railway network expansion programs.

Effects of electrification on stations

Electrification causes increased capacity of railway so the

Railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

layout changes accordingly. some of Railway stations in Iran are suitable for electrification, specially those that have been constructed after the Islamic revolution.

External cost

The

external cost In economics, an externality is an indirect cost (external cost) or indirect benefit (external benefit) to an uninvolved third party that arises as an effect of another party's (or parties') activity. Externalities can be considered as unpriced ...

of railway is lower than other modes of transport but the electrification brings down it even more, if it is

sustainable Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

. This is specially due to railway safety relative to

Road traffic safety Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures, such as traffic calming, to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, Driving, motorists, passengers of vehicles, and p ...

, considering the

Value of life The value of life is an economic value used to quantify the benefit of avoiding a fatality. It is also referred to as the cost of life, value of preventing a fatality (VPF), implied cost of averting a fatality (ICAF), and value of a statistical l ...

. Also energy from well to wheel, and the necessity to reduce pollutions and greenhouse gas in earth according to the

Kyoto Protocol The was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that global warming is oc ...

. The new approach to manage the CO₂ is

carbon credit Carbon offsetting is a carbon trading mechanism that enables entities to compensate for offset greenhouse gas emissions by investing in projects that reduce, avoid, or remove emissions elsewhere. When an entity invests in a carbon offsetting p ...

Electrification effect on CDM

One of the results of electrification is

Clean Development Mechanism The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is a United Nations-run carbon offset scheme allowing countries to fund greenhouse gas emissions-reducing projects in other countries and claim the saved emissions as part of their own efforts to meet internat ...

, for carbon dioxide reduction. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is one of the

flexibility mechanisms Flexible mechanisms, also sometimes known as Flexibility Mechanisms or Kyoto Mechanisms, refers to emissions trading, the Clean Development Mechanism and Joint Implementation. These are mechanisms defined under the Kyoto Protocol intended to lower ...

defined in the

Electrification effect on TOD

Transit Oriented Development or TOD is one of major concepts that has been considered to promote the presence of railway, Metro and other modes of city transport in through increasing the interaction of transit by hoteling, marketing, services, housing.

Electrification standards

Some of main UIC standards in railway electrification are: UIC 791-1, Maintenance guidelines for overhead contact lines UIC 799, Characteristics of a.c. overhead contact systems for high-speed lines worked at speeds of over 200 km/h And European union codes like: En-50119, Cenelec standard Railway Electric Traction Contact-Lines EN 15227 about the

Crashworthiness Crashworthiness is the ability of a structure to protect its occupants during an impact. This is commonly tested when investigating the safety of aircraft and vehicles. Different criteria are used to figure out how safe a structure is in a crash, ...

requirements for railway vehicle bodies IEC 61133- Rules for testing of electric locomotive The first electrification standard for Iran was prepared by Kampsax(

COWI COWI A/S is an international consulting group, specializing in engineering, environmental science and economics, with headquarters located in Lyngby, Denmark. It has been involved in more than 50,000 projects in 175 countries and has approximat ...

) in 1977 as part of a general standard.

Electrification industries

IDRO

Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran The Industrial Development & Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO) known as IDRO Group was established in 1967 in Iran. IDRO Group is one of the largest companies in Iran. It is also one of the largest conglomerates in Asia. IDRO's objective is t ...

as a developing organization is responsible to develop the industry sector and to accelerate the industrialization process of the country. It has become one of the largest Iranian holding company/conglomerate (company) in recent years.

Iranian railway industry The Iranian railway equipment industry started its activity with wagon production. It was formed by the inauguration of train-manufacturing company Wagon Pars in 1974. The railway is being developed with Iranian-government backing and forms a ...

are either belonging to IDRO or private sector and the electrification industries among them are like: Tam (irankhodro), Sanam, Irantransfo.

Electrification consultants

Because of short history of railway electrification and suburb metro with 25 kV there are not so many consultants for this in Iran, but some of them are

METRA Metra is the primary commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 243 train station, stati ...

, Imer, Moshanir, Harazrah, Iranoston,

Araco Toyota Auto Body () is a manufacturing subsidiary of the Toyota group based in Japan. It is headquartered in Kariya, Aichi and was established in 1945. The company has plants in the Mie and Aichi prefectures and other facilities around Japan and ...

( Azarakhsh rail Aria).

Electrification railway Maps

Some of suitable railway map sources with infrastructure and speed classification as well as topographic contours are given different sources.

Electrification cost

The Electrification cost as part of railway prices and costs depends on the speed or the class of the track like

Speed limits in the United States (rail) Rail speed limits in the United States are regulated by the Federal Railroad Administration. Railroads also implement their own limits and enforce speed limits. Speed restrictions are based on a number of factors including curvature, signaling, ...

. In 1984 the world bank's ''Railways and Energy'' report provided estimates of typical costs. According to the book of Prices and Costs in the railway sector by Professor Baumgartner from Switzerland the rough estimation of

traction substation A traction substation, traction current converter plant, rectifier station or traction power substation (TPSS) is an electrical substation that converts electric power from the form provided by the electrical power industry for public utility s ...

cost is 0.2 million euro per megavolt amper and 0.2 million euro per km of line with 300 km/h and 0.15 for 100 km/h.

Import Tariff

Tariff A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...

of electrification equipment in Iran is 5% for locomotive and machineries.

Electrification Right-of-way

Right-of-way A right of way (also right-of-way) is a specific route that people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in the physical sense include controlled-access h ...

in railway in Iran is 35m but with electrification needs to be increased for higher speed and safety reasons.

Railway Electrification Education

For higher education, it is considered to have MS level in railway faculty in IRAN University of science and technology.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Railway Electrification In Iran Railway electrification by country, Iran Rail infrastructure in Iran