Iran
US Library of Congress, (Public Domain)/ Nick ParrinoTrans-Iranian Railway heads into a tunnel.
The newly inscribed Trans-Iranian Railway connects the Caspian Sea in the northeast with the Persian Gulf in the southwest and crosses two mountain ranges as well as rivers, highlands and four different climatic areas.
Construction on the 1,394-kilometre-long railway, which ran from 1927 to 1938, was designed and executed between the Iranian Government and 43 contractors from a host of countries.
“The railway is notable for its scale and the engineering works it required to overcome steep routes and other difficulties”, according to UNESCO, which pointed out that its required extensive mountain cutting and constructing 174 large bridges, 186 small bridges and 224 tunnels, including 11 that spiralled.
Unlike most early railway projects, the Trans-Iranian Railway was funded by national taxes to avoid foreign investment and control.
