Transport in Iran

Iran has a long paved road system linking most of its towns and all of its cities. In 2007 the country had 178,152 km (111,000 mi) of roads, of which 66 percent were paved. There were 55 passenger cars for every 1,000 inhabitants. Trains operated on 11,106 km (6,942 mi) of railroad track. The country’s major port of entry is Bandar-Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz. After arriving in Iran, imported goods are distributed throughout the country by trucks and freight trains. The Tehran-Bandar-Abbas railroad, opened in 1995, connects Bandar-Abbas to the railroad system of Central Asia via Tehran and Mashhad. Other major ports include Bandar e-Anzali and Bandar e-Torkeman on the Caspian Sea and Korramshahr and Bandar e-Khomeyni on the Persian Gulf. Dozens of cities have airports that serve passenger and cargo planes. Iran Air, the national airline, was founded in 1962 and operates domestic and international flights. All large cities have mass transit systems using buses, and several private companies provide bus service between cities. Tehran, Mashhad, Shiraz, Tabriz, Ahvaz and Esfahan are in the process of constructing underground mass transit rail lines.

Railways

Total: 11,106 km Broad gauge: 94 km 1.676-m gauge (connected to Pakistan Railways)Standard gauge: 7,162 km 1.435-m gauge (186 km electrified) note: broad-gauge track is employed at the borders with Azerbaijan Republic and Turkmenistan which have 1.524-m broad-gauge rail systems; 41 km of the standard-gauge, electrified track is in suburban service at Tehran (2007).

Railway links with adjacent countries

* Afghanistan - planned
* Azerbaijan - break-of-gauge 1435mm/1524mm
* Armenia - not known - break of gauge 1435mm/1524mm
* Iraq - part under construction, part planned.
** one longish link heads directly for the Iraqi capital
** one short link of about 50km links Khorramshahr to Basra and is due for completion in 2006.
* Pakistan - break-of-gauge 1435mm/1676mm - missing link from Bam to Zahedan is under construction.
* Turkey - via Lake Van - train ferry - yes - 1435mm
* Turkmenistan - break-of-gauge 1435mm/1524mm

Stations served

Couplings, Brakes and Electrification

* Couplers - ?
* Brakes - air
* Electrification - 25 kV AC

Metro

* City with underground railway system: TehranOthers cities with plans to construct a metro:
* Mashhad Metro
* Isfahan Metro
* Shiraz Metro
* Tabriz Metro
* Ahvaz Metro

Highways and Automobiles

*Total: 178,152 km
*Paved: 118,115 km (including 751 km of expressways)
*Unpaved: 60,037 km (2002 est.)
*There were more than 7 million vehicles in Iran by 2006 mostly manufactured or assembled locally.

Waterways

Total: 904 km note: the Shatt al-Arab is usually navigable by maritime traffic for about 130 km; channel has been dredged to 3 m and is in use.

Pipelines

Condensate/gas 212 km; gas 16,998 km; liquid petroleum gas 570 km; oil 8,256 km; refined products 7,808 km (2004)

Iran is currently undergoing negotiations with neighboring Pakistan for the construction of an oil and gas pipeline to that country to help integrate their respective economies and solve the energy shortage being faced by Pakistan.

Ports and harbors

Abadan (largely destroyed in fighting during 1980-88 war), Ahvaz, Bandar Abbas, Bandar-e Anzali (Caspian sea), Bushehr, Bandar-e Emam Khomeyni, Bandar-e Lengeh, Bandar-e Mahshahr, Bandar-e Torkaman (Caspian sea), Chabahar (Bandar-e Beheshti), Kharg island, Lavan island, Sirri island, Khorramshahr (limited operation since November 1992), Noshahr (Caspian sea)

Merchant marine

Total: 143 ships (with a volume of GRT|1,000|first=yes or over) totaling GRT|5,129,056/DWT|8,908,336|metric|first=yes

Ships by type: bulk carrier 38, cargo ship 48, chemical tanker 4, container ship 14, liquefied gas 1, passenger ship 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 30, roll on/roll off ship 3 (2005)

Airports

321 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways

"total:"129
"over 3,047 m:"46
"2,438 to 3,047 m:"26
"1,524 to 2,437 m:"25
"914 to 1,523 m:"31
"under 914 m:"6 (2006 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

"total:"192
"over 3,047 m:"1
"1,524 to 2,437 m:"8
"914 to 1,523 m:"140
"under 914 m:"43 (2006 est.)

National airline:
*Iran Air

Heliports

15 (2006 est.)

Transit of commodities

* One million tons of commodities have been transited abroad per month (2008). [ [http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-237/0806176186005008.htm Rise in transit of commodities via Iran - Irna ] ]
* The volume of transited commodities, fuel and barter trade will rise to 12 million tons during March 2008-March 2009.
* Over five million passengers have been transported via border points mainly Mehran, Bazargan.
* Presently, some 24 border crossings except Kileh in Sardasht (West Azarbaijan) and Yazdan in Southern Khorasan are active nationwide.

Road accidents

Iran ranks first worldwide in terms of having the largest number of road accidents with 38,000 deaths and injuries per year. Currently, road accidents account for a majority of deaths in Iran. Transport officials say 46.8 percent of car accidents take place in cities, 21.5 percent outside, 19.5 percent on rural routes, 4.2 percent on urban highways and 4.2 percent on suburban highways. [ [http://www.iran-daily.com/1387/3183/html/economy.htm Iran Daily - Domestic Economy - 07/27/08 ] ]

See also

* Tehran Metro
* Airlines of Iran
* Ministry of Petroleum of Iran (Oil subsidies)
* Privatization in Iran
* Environmental issues in Iran
* Economy of Iran
* List of Major Iranian Companies
* Communications in Iran

References

External links

Key Organizations

* [http://www.irdo.org/ Iran Road Development Organization]
* [http://www.tto.ir/ Iran Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization]
* [http://www.cao.ir/ Civil Aviation Organization of Iran]
* [http://www.irirw.com/ Iran Railways Co.] [http://www.msedv.at/rai/ (also)]
* [http://www.rajatrains.com Raja Railway Co. of Iran]
* [http://www.tehrantraffic.com/ Tehran Traffic Bureau]
* [http://www.pso.ir/ Iran Ports and Shippind Organization]
* [http://www.irdo.org/ Iran Ports and Shippind Organization]

Useful Links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/06/iran_maps/html/default.stm Iran in Maps]
* [http://www.pilotfriend.com/World%20airfield%20database/airfield%20codes/codes6/Iran.htm Iran airfields]
* [http://www.irvl.net/privatization_structure.htm Privatization and Structure of Iran's Transportation System (2000)]