Sana't-E-Haml-O-Naghl, Transport & Industry (Monthly)
May 1995,
Vol. 14, No. 138, Pages: 34-39
Word Count: 2159
original article published on Netiran.com
Summary:
The Bafq - Bandar Abbas railway project which began in 1360 (beginning March 1981) became operational in January 1995 at a total cost of Dlrs. 500 million in hard currency plus Rls. 500 billion. The construction of the railroad and its connection with the nationwide railway network has enabled the State Railway Company of Iran to assume an important role in transporting transit goods. The completion of a railway project linking Mashhad to Sarakhs in a not far distant future will make access to a transit route from the East to the West and from the North to the South possible. The following report reviews the establishment of railways in Iran in various stages as well as the views of the director general for commercial and marketing affairs at the State Railway Company on the capabilities of the company in the aftermath of the inauguration of Bafq - Bandar Abbas railway.
Text:
Railway In Iran
Efforts to construct railways in Iran were launched in 1872 but it was not until 15 years later that an effective step was taken in this regard. In 1887 (nearly 110 years ago) a French company built a 8.7 kilometre rail track between Tehran and Shahr -e- Ray (in southern Tehran). Afterwards, a series of railroads were built all over the country as a result of the World War II or for the purpose of meeting the needs of the then Irano - British oil company in the course of a 40 year period. Many of those rail tracks were later dismantled. The surviving railways are: Jolfa - Tabriz railway which is 146 kilometres long and 1,524 millimetres wide, and the railroad which connects Zahedan and Mir Javeh (in southeastern Iran) which is 92 kilometres long and 1,676 millimetres wide. In the period between the end of the First World War and the start of the Second World War in the September of 1927, the construction of the nationwide railway network in Iran according to international standards began, extending from Bandar Imam Khomeini (formerly called Mahshahr) in the south to the port city of Turkmen in the north. The 1,389 kilometre railway project, funded by taxes levied on sugar consumed by the Iranian people, was completed in the summer of 1938. At the same time, preparations were made to build other railroads which were all left unfinished because of the outbreak of the Second World War and its subsequent occupation of Iran by the allied forces. In the course of the World War II and due to the pressure exerted on Iran by the occupation forces, the construction of a 123 kilometre railroad connecting Ahvaz and Khorramshahr in southern Iran started in 1932 and was finished in the same year.
Railways After the War
The expansion of railways network in Iran which came to a halt as a result of the outbreak of the World War II, continued slowly after the end of the war to an extent that the total main railroads of the nationwide network increased to 4,602 kilometres until the year 1978. After the culmination of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the construction of 2,000 kilometres of railroads was placed on the agenda of the government. Included in the projects, a 700 kilometre rail track linking Bandar Abbas in Hormuzgan Province to Bafq in Kerman Province was of special importance.
Railways In Today's Iran
In an interview with the Sana't- e -Haml- O -Naghl magazine, Seyyed Ali Asghar Musavi, director general for commercial and marketing affairs at the State Railways Company, said that the inauguration of Bafq - Bandar Abbas railroad was an important event in the history of railways in Iran. He said the project was the most important developmental project implemented in Iran in the past 25 years. He also described the current situation of Iranian railways as follows: The railways network of the Islamic Republic of Iran is linked with the Turkish railways through the border crossing of Razi and Kapikoy, with the railways of the Republic of Azerbaijan through the border crossing of Jolfa and with the Pakistani railways through the border crossing of Mir Javeh. Carrying goods from Iran to Europe (northern Europe), the Central Asian republics, East Asian countries and the Persian Gulf littoral states has been made possible through the above mentioned border crossings. The completion of a railway project connecting Mashhad to Sarakhs in a not far distant future will made access to a transit route from the East to the West and from the Northeast to the South possible. At present, Iran's railways network consists of 5,350 kilometres of main tracks and 1,736 kilometres of side tracks and railroads set up for industrial purposes. Of the said figure, 146 kilometres are electric railroads.
Main Gateways For Combined Transit Transportation
Razi (border crossing) bordering Turkey to the northwest and Jolfa bordering the Republic of Azerbaijan to the north, are linked with Tehran. The Republic of Turkmenistan located north of the country, has the longest border with Iran. 1 - Pol - Located 250 kilometres from Gorgan, is one of the border crossings which are not linked with the nationwide railways network. 2 - Baj Giran - located 220 kilometres from Mashhad is not connected with the railway network. 3 - Lotf Abad - At present this border crossing is of high importance for transit trade route (especially from the southern port cities of the country such as Bandar Abbas). The border crossing is located 275 kilometres from Mashhad, and is not linked with the nationwide railway network. However, Lotf Abad is connected with the railways of Turkmenistan. 4 - Sarakhs - It is to become the most important transit route in a near future. It is located 1,075 kilometres from Tehran. A railroad similar to this one is Mari - Sarakhs railroad in Turkmenistan which a vital connecting route between the railways of Siberia and a route for transport of goods by railway from Turkmenistan to the Persian Gulf to the south. The railroads connecting Bandar Abbas to Sarakhs are 2,525 kilometres long.
The South - North Corridor
It is used for transportation of commodities from the Persian Gulf to the Middle East, the Black Sea, countries situated in the Balkan region and Europe.
The 1st Corridor: extends from Bandar Imam or Khorramshahr to Razi border crossing through the cities of Ahvaz, Andimeshk, Qom, Tehran, Zanjan and Tabriz. The length of the corridor is 1,888 kilometres.
The 2nd Corridor: extends from Bandar Abbas to Razi through the cities of Sirjan, Bafq, Yazd, Tehran and Tabriz. The corridor consists of 2,410 kilometres of railroads.
The South - North corridor, west of the Caspian Sea
This corridor is used for carrying commodities from the Persian Gulf to Armenia, Georgia, Russia and Ukraine.
The 3rd Corridor: extends from Bandar Imam or Khorramshahr to Jolfa through the cities of Ahvaz, Tehran and Tabriz. The corridor consists of 1,810 kilometres of railroads.
The 4th corridor: extends from Bandar Abbas to Jolfa through the cities of Bafq, Yazd, Tehran and Tabriz (it consists of 2,365 kilometres of railroads).
The South - North corridor, east of the Caspian Sea
This corridor is used for carrying goods from the Persian Gulf to the countries located north of Iran namely Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan through combined transportation system.
The 5th Corridor: extends from Bandar Imam to Gorgan through Tehran (the length of the corridor is 1,430 kilometres)
The 6th Corridor: extends from Bandar Abbas to Gorgan through the cities of Bafq and Tehran (the length of the corridor is 1,980 kilometres).
The 7th Corridor: extends from Bandar Abbas to Mashhad through the cities of Bafq and Tehran (the length of the corridor is 2,400 kilometres). This corridor can be linked to Ashkhabad via the border crossings of Lotf Abad or Baj Giran. It is also possible to carry goods from Gorgan and Mashhad by train to Turkmenistan via the border crossings of Pol, Lotf Abad, or Baj Giran.
The Facilities Owned By the State railway Company
Iran's State Railway Company possesses 14,593 train cars including unroofed, flat, storage and private wagons.
Pacts - Agreements and Regulations
In order to transport goods between Iran, Europe and Middle East, Iran has joined international treaties on transportation and there are mutual agreements with Pakistan and Iran's northern neighbouring countries.
Silk Railroad
The company's director general for commercial and marketing affairs says: ''The country's geopolitical situations requires us to act as a transit bridge between the Central Asian countries, Europe and the Middle East. Today, it is not possible to revive the Silk Road because of the high road building costs whereas the railway can play the same role.'' He says: ''with Bafq - Bandar Abbas railroad joining the nationwide railway network, our country will be linked to Asia and Europe. Our railway network which is located on a transit route from four directions will cover the North - South and the East - West routes.
Bafq - Bandar Abbas railroad has a transportation capacity of 20 million tons of cargoes per year but at present only six to seven million tons of goods are carried via this route. However, the figure is expected to rise to 10 million tons a year in the course of the Second Economic Development Plan (1995 - 2000). Presently, we are looking forward for customers willing to transport their containers by train in a bid to boost the transportation capacity.
Efforts Under Way to Carry More Cargoes
On measures taken so far to attract customers for transportation of goods by train, Musavi says: ''According to the existing regulations, the State Railway Company should operate like a commercial firm. To this end, the company has set up a commercial bureau since two years ago which is responsible for commercial activities.''
On the advantages of railway over other transportation means, he said that the number of road accidents taking place world-wide yearly is 24 times as many as railway accidents. Of course in Iran, the ratio of road accidents to train accidents is 240 to one. According to the latest estimates, road accidents happening in Iran causes a 3,000 billion rial damage per year. In other words, Iran incurs a 10 million rial loss daily as a result of traffic accidents on its roads. Under such circumstances, there is no doubt that transport of goods by train is in the interest of the owners of the goods. A seminar on the advantages of transportation of goods by train is to be held in Iran soon.
Is Priority Given to Passengers or Cargoes?
The director general for commercial and marketing affairs at the State Railway Company says: ''because the income obtained from a cargo wagon is nearly equal to a 12 car passenger train, we have no other alternative to give priority to cargoes in an effort to keep up the company.'' On the fact that since there is a shortage o airplanes and proper surface transportation means, the railway should play a more active role in displacing passengers, the official replied that the country's railways network was developing at a rate of five to eight per cent a year, but the reality is that the railway sector will not be able to play a considerable important role unless the railway undergoes a fundamental transportation from technological point of view. He continued by saying that at present more than 70 per cent of the prices of train tickets were being paid by the government as subsidies. For instance, he said, a trip by train from Tehran to Mashhad which usually takes 14 hours costs the Railway Company Rls. 18,000 for each passenger while the tickets sold by it for second class, first class and deluxe compartments are Rls. 5,000, Rls. 10,000 and Rls. 16,000 respectively.
According to the official, reducing the time of each trip made by trains is the only solution to this problem, for example, he added, is speed trains are used to travel from Tehran to Mashhad in eight hours instead of 14 hours, more passengers can be displaced and the government would no longer need to pay subsidies.
Transfer of Railway to the Private Sector
Mr. Musavi says: ''under present circumstances, it is not possible for the State Railway Company to meet its own current expenditures and at the same time employ modern technology and speed trains. The budget predicted for the Railway Company in the Second Five Year Development Plan has not been provided yet. In addition, Majlis (parliament) has disapproved a proposed additional budget for the company for the Second Plan.''
In the opinion of Mr. Musavi, the passenger section of the State Railway Company should be run by a company jointly owned by the public and private sectors. Officials of the Railway Company are now studying the structure of such a joint company. He said only a company like this can bring about a noticeable transformation in the railway sector.