Transport in Iran | Iran Transportation | Iran Railways | Iran Ports & Horbors

Iran has a long paved road system linking most of its towns and all of its cities.

In 2002 the country had 178,152 km (111,000 mi) of roads, of which 66 percent were paved. There were 30 passenger cars for every 1,000 inhabitants.

Trains operated on 6,405 km (3,980 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 Khorramshahr 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.

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, partly 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

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)