TEHRAN – Iran’s rail cargo transport rose 12 percent in the first eight months of the current Iranian year (March 21-November 21, 2025), highlighting a faster shift toward rail-based freight as authorities seek to cut logistics costs, ease pressure on roads and expand export capacity.

Jabarali Zakeri, deputy transport and urban development minister and head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways, said rail-borne freight volumes increased year on year through late November, bringing the sector closer to the target of a 30 percent rail share in national cargo transport under the Seventh National Development Plan.

Zakeri said expanding rail freight plays a key role in lowering production costs in heavy industries such as steel, while also reducing air pollution and improving road safety by diverting cargo from highways.

He pointed to growing cross-border rail traffic as a major contributor to the increase. Rail exports and transit to Afghanistan have expanded sharply this year, with around 450,000 tons of goods moved via the Shamtigh border crossing since the start of the year.

Monthly rail shipments to Afghanistan currently stand at about 70,000 tons and are expected to exceed 100,000 tons in the coming month. Total volumes are projected to rise above 1.5 million tons next year.

According to Zakeri, rail shipments to Afghanistan include steel products, ceramic exports from central Iran and petroleum products transiting from regional suppliers. He said rail transport has significantly lowered logistics costs, cutting the cost of transporting petroleum products inside Afghanistan to about $935 per ton from roughly $1,400 previously.

Iran has also expanded long-distance rail freight corridors, carrying out its first rail export of sponge iron to Uzbekistan this year and coordinating the movement of Iranian wagons across Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

To further boost volumes, Zakeri said Iran Railways will soon pilot “block trains,” a scheme aimed at reducing unit transport costs and increasing freight capacity with private sector participation.

EF/MA