The electrification of the Tehran-Mashhad railway which involves Chinese enterprises has started this month. Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated the construction, said Economic and Commercial Counsellor's office of the embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Iran on Sunday.

The project is expected to take 42 months to complete, followed by a five-year maintenance period. It will be carried out by Iranian infrastructure engineering group MAPNA and China’s CMC and SU Power. Iranian and Chinese officials finalized an agreement to electrify the line, with 85% of the $2.1 billion cost to be financed through Chinese loans, last June.

Upon commissioning, 70 Chinese locomotives will zoom along the route at 250 km/h. Together with improved track and signals, this is expected to cut the journey between Tehran and Mashhad from about 12 hours to six, and increase freight capacity to 10 million tons a year.

However, Chinese media Caixin.com quoted a man, "who is close to a Chinese rail transportation equipment company on the project" in an article, saying after electrification, the maximum speed of Chinese locomotives on the line will be less than 160kmph, which does not meet the standard speed of bullet trains in China.

President Rouhani said expansion of the rail network is among the government’s main objectives since it creates a secure environment and guarantees convenience and ease of transportation, reported the Financial Tribune Daily on Feb. 7. “Today, Iran’s religious capital (Mashhad) is connected to its political capital (Tehran) by a high-speed train,” he said.

Rail transportation is said to account for 20% of Iran's transport usage. Tehran-Mashhad road fatalities stand at 2,500 per year meaning the railroad electrification project could save the lives of as many as 1,800 compatriots.