Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 28
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
A freight train on the route from Tehran to southern Ahwaz city derailed in Iran's western Lorestan province early morning on Oct. 28, Iranian ISNA news agency reported.
The railway is completely blocked due to the incident, Abdolkarim Darvishzadeh, an official with Iran's Railways said, adding that several passenger trains are waiting for the way to be cleared.
The official went on to note that currently the railway employees are trying to reopen the path, which may be clear in several hours.
Darvishzadeh didn't reveal any details on possible casualties.
Darvishzadeh said that about 250 kilometers of Iran's railway in the south have outdated tracks which should be replaced - which requires time, necessary funding, and can not be done short-term.
He said this process can be completed in at least 1 to 1,5 years.
Several similar incidents have happened in recent months in the country. For example, in July 2014 a similar incident left several people injured, while a passenger train moving in the direction of Shushtar-Mashhad derailed after crashed into a freight train near Tange Haft station in Lorestan province.
In 2009, at least three people were killed and two others got injured when two trains collided on the outskirts of Tehran. The accident happened when a passenger train en route from Mashhad to Tehran hit a maintenance train on the line near the town of Varamin.
Back in 2004, a train loaded with chemicals and fertilizer derailed and exploded along the same route, killing at least 300 people.