Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 9
By Temkin Jafarov - Trend:
Railway tickets will become 15 percent expensive in Iran from Dec. 16, Fars agency quoted Mohammad Rashedi, deputy director general at the Iran Railways, as saying Dec. 9.
Currently, the cost of one train ticket in Iran ranges from 250,000 rials ($7) to 720,000 rials ($20) depending on the quality of the service rendered.
Rashedi said the rise in ticket prices is due to financial problems of railway companies and the increase in their expenditures.
"Taking into account that the expenditures for passenger trains, as well as the costs of repair and maintenance of cars are high, and that on off-peak days the trains have to run empty on one direction, it was decided to increase the prices of tickets," he said, noting that the decision will be executed from December 16.
Rashedi added that 137 passenger trains are currently being operated throughout Iran.
"Some 24 of them run on the suburbs of big cities, and there will be no increase in fares for traveling on them," he said, adding that the fares on 90 trains will increase by less than 10 percent, while on 10 trains the increase will stand at 15 percent.