Broadcast 29 March on Iranian state satellite TV (IRINN)

Announcer: The Esfahan-Tehran rail line will begin operating soon. The director of the Passenger Train Company said: With the launch of this line on 18 Farvardin [7 April] transit time on this route will be reduced from 7.5 hours to 4.5 hours.

Raiszadeh said the maximum speed of this train is 260 kilometers per hour. He added that initially this train will have a passenger capacity of 270, which can be increased to 600.

He also mentioned the laying of 120 kilometers of rail on the Esfahan-Shiraz line. He said: Based on planning in the Ministry of Roads and Transportation, this route will go into operation in the year 1387 [21 March 2008 - 20 March 2009].