Russian Railways is launching a project for electrification of Garmsar-Ince Burun railroad in Iran, which costs 1.2 billion euros, Press TV reported.
The 495-kilometer railway, which extends to Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, will connect Central Asia with the Persian Gulf. As Press TV reported on July 3, Oleg Belozerov, Chairman of the Board of Russian Railways, and Abbas Akhoundi, Minister of Roads and Urban Development of Iran, took part in the official ceremony of launching works within the project.
The largest contractor in the project is the construction company RZD International LLC — a subsidiary of Russian Railways. The works will be financed mainly by the Russian party, which will extend an export credit loan covering 85% of the total cost of the project. The remaining 15% will come from the National Development Fund of Iran.
“This is an important project in terms of economics and upgrade of the rail transport industry. The most important point is that we will witness a technological change in the transportation industry in Iran. We are transforming from diesel locomotives to electric locomotives,” Abbas Akhoundi said.
Mr. Belozerov, for his part, said that as a result of the project, the maximum speed on the railway will be doubled — up to 120 km per hour while the capacity will increase fourfold — up to ten million tons per year.
