TEHRAN- Iranian railway fleet received 169 new domestically-made or renovated locomotives and wagons worth 3.52 trillion rials (about $83.8 million) on Saturday in a ceremony attended by senior transport officials, IRIB reported.

As the first stage of the program for the renovation of the country’s railway fleet in the current Iranian calendar year (started on March 21), 156 freight wagons, three locomotives including two renovated ones and a newly made one by MAPNA Group, as well as 10 renovated passenger wagons joined the railway fleet.

The unveiling ceremony of the mentioned fleet was attended by the Transport and Urban Development Minister Mohammad Eslami and the Head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (known as RAI) Saeed Rasouli.

As reported, the mentioned vehicles have been manufactured and renovated by six domestic companies including Wagon Pars, Arak Steel Company, and Wagon Kowsar Company.

Construction and renovation of the freight wagons have saved the country over five million euros, while the manufacturing and renovation of the said locomotives by MAPNA has created jobs for over 80 people.

The renovation of the passenger wagons by domestic companies has also created jobs for over 132 people.

Earlier in May, Eslami had announced that his ministry plans to renovate 1,500 wagons and locomotives to be added to the country’s railway fleet by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2022).

Speaking on the sidelines of an event on the occasion of the National Productivity Day on May 24, Eslami said: “The renovation of the mentioned fleet will be accelerated if the necessary funds for the program are provided on schedule.”

According to the official, over 1,800 freight and passenger wagons and locomotives were produced or renovated in the country over the past two years.

"Although the figure was less than the previous periods, all the new locomotives and wagons produced in the past two years have been domestically-made, whereas, in the past, renovations were done with imported products.”

The development of the railway sector has been one of the macro policies of the Iranian government as it has been emphasized by the general policies of the country’s national development plans.

EF/MA