Russia Voices Readiness to Electrify 600 KM of Iran’s Railway System

"We discussed implementation of this railway project in our meeting with Iranians last week," Sultanov said.

He noted that the representatives of the Russian Railway Company and International Railway Company will soon visit Tehran to make the needed coordination for the specifications and technical details of the project.

In February, CEO of Russia's International Railway Company Sergey Pavlov announced that Iran has asked his company to take part in a tender for electrification project of 500 kilometers of Iran's railway network.

In October 2012, Russia helped Iran to electrify Tabriz-Azarshahr railway with a length of about 46 kilometers and five stations.

An Iranian delegation comprising senior railway officials and representatives of Iranian Parliament's Development Commission visited Russia last week.

During the meeting in Moscow, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding for electrifying Damghan-Inceburun railway.

Last month, Iranian and Chinese officials signed a contract to electrify the railway linking the capital city of Tehran to the holy city of Mashhad in Northeastern Iran.

The project is due to be implemented by an Iranian-Chinese consortium, including the Iranian companies of MAPNA, MAPNA Ehdas and MAPNA International and the Chinese CMC and SU Power firms.

The deal necessitates the signatories to reform and construct the current Tehran-Mashhad railway for trains with 200km/h speed, build electric railway for trains with 250km/h speed and procure 70 electric locomotives