TEHRAN - Iran’s railway authority plans to establish five national and regional railway museums and expand rail tourism projects as part of efforts to preserve the country’s industrial heritage, officials said on Tuesday.

According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways, Chief Executive Jabbarali Zakeri said the railway network represented not only a transport infrastructure but also part of Iran’s industrial and historical identity that should be preserved for future generations.

Speaking at the first “Rail-Nama” meeting, held to coincide with the anniversary of the establishment of Iran’s first railway and tramway company in 1888 and the country’s museum and cultural heritage day, Zakeri said several railway museums were being planned across the country under the slogan “Railways; Sustainable Development and Lasting Heritage.”

The projects aim to preserve and display historical railway objects and documents for the public, he said.

Zakeri, who also serves as deputy roads and urban development minister, said authorities were also pursuing plans to develop rail tourism through the creation of tourism villages along railway routes and the launch of new tourist train services in cooperation with private sector operators and passenger companies.

He said the expansion of rail tourism could help promote Iran’s tourism potential while increasing the attractiveness of train travel.

During the event, a documentary titled “Rail-Nama” and a short film called “Smoke Machine” focusing on Iran’s railway engineering heritage and the history of the national rail network were screened.

Officials also highlighted the recent national registration of the “Gar Machine” station on the Tehran-Rey railway line, considered the country’s oldest railway station.

Vahid Aliqardashi, director of the UNESCO-listed Trans-Iranian Railway of Iran, announced plans to build the “National Museum of Iran’s Trans-Iranian Railway” at Tehran railway station.

He said the project aimed to strengthen the culture of preserving Iran’s “living industrial heritage” and outlined broader plans to protect and better introduce the railway network, which was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 2021.

Mohammad-Hossein Talebian, adviser to the minister of cultural heritage, tourism and handicrafts, described the UNESCO registration of Iran’s railway as the result of cooperation among state institutions and expressed hope that other historic railway lines could also gain national and international recognition.

At the end of the ceremony, Zakeri donated an old railway lantern, once used to guide trains, to the future national railway museum.

The Trans-Iranian Railway connects the Caspian Sea in the northeast with the Persian Gulf in the southwest crossing two mountain ranges as well as rivers, highlands, forests and plains, and four different climatic areas. Started in 1927 and completed in 1938, the 1,394-kilometre-long railway was designed and executed in a successful collaboration between the Iranian government and 43 construction contractors from many countries. The railway is notable for its scale and the engineering works it required to overcome steep routes and other difficulties. Its construction involved extensive mountain cutting in some areas, while the rugged terrain in others dictated the construction of 174 large bridges, 186 small bridges and 224 tunnels, including 11 spiral tunnels. Unlike most early railway projects, construction of the Trans-Iranian Railway was funded by national taxes to avoid foreign investment and control.
AM