Germany’s Siemens has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (RAI).

The MoU has a sweeping coverage, and includes:

• Electrification of the Tehran-Isfahan railroad
• Construction of the Tehran-Mashhad high-speed railway
• Provision of 500 passenger train coaches
• Upgrade of railway systems
• Training and technology transfer

RAI president Mohsen Purseyyed Aghaei and Jochen Eickholt, CEO of the mobility division of Siemens, signed the MoU on 7 January, according to Tehran-based news agency Mehr.

Siemens will be providing the signalling equipment, electric locomotives, passenger train coaches and the related maintenance services for the proposed railroad projects, the Mehr report said.

Based on the MoU, Siemens has agreed to provide its products and services in partnership with Iranian companies to facilitate knowledge and skills transfer. The agreement, however, can only take effect once the sanctions on the Islamic Republic have been lifted.

Iran has a mainline rail network covering more than 10,000 kilometres, merely 181km of which is electrified. The state earlier signed a $1.2bn financing deal with the Russian government to upgrade an ageing rail line that links north-central Iran with its northeastern border with Turkmenistan.