rail transportation

What is rail transport?

Head of content

Transporting cargo or passengers through the railway network and stations is called rail transport. Rail transportation is an effective and efficient method that has had many effects on the development of import goods, export of goods, and as a result, the growth of world trade.

Rail transportation is chosen when we intend to move a large volume of goods and products. The choice of transportation method depends on the type of products, for example, when you plan to transfer food or fruit to another country, you should choose the shortest way and the fastest means of transportation. But if you plan to transfer a large amount of cargo from one country to another, the best method of transportation is rail transportation.

Rail cargo transportation is carried out by means of transportation corridors that are special for moving cargo and do not carry passengers. Before choosing this international transportation system, in order to import and export your products, you should pay attention to many things such as: the laws of the destination country, the distance between the two sources and the destination, the value of the goods and the costs. Failure to pay attention to such points can make you face problems and financial losses.

Exports from Iran are carried out through rail transportation through the borders of Sarkhs, Astara, Inchebron, Razi Khoi, Lotfabad and Mirjaveh, to the countries of Pakistan, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia, Mongolia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Eastern European countries. take

In the following article, stay with Qoqnous Trading to review the rules, different methods of rail transportation and its advantages and disadvantages.

History of rail transport

The discovery of the steam engine in 1774 was the beginning of rail transportation, which took a more serious form following the patenting of steam locomotives in 1800, and the first freight train entered England. Before the construction of trains, there were also wagons that were pulled by horses on wooden rails. Today, with the passage of time and the advancement of technology, there are many large and small freight trains, small inner-city trams and passenger trains.

About 100 years ago, the railway track was built in Iran, and one of the most important reasons for its construction is Iran’s unique geographical location and the best communication route between Europe and colonial countries. Our country now has more than 10,460 kilometers of railways connecting north to south and west to east.

Rules and regulations of rail transportation

Each country in the world has adopted its own laws for the rail transportation system. But a global convention for rail transportation has been formed around the world, which has more than 45 member countries, and it is actually an organization for approving international rail transportation rules and monitoring its implementation.

One of the laws registered in this convention is the preparation of declarations for dangerous goods. It should be noted that the United Nations has a special code for all dangerous goods.

Different types of wagons for rail transportation

Traders and manufacturers often use rail transport and cargo trains to export their products in large volumes to European and Central Asian countries. Rail transportation is done with different wagons according to parameters such as product type and quantity. We will mention the most common ones below.

Transportation with flat wagons

Flat wagons are typically used to transport machinery and goods that are heavy and long. Flat wagons are usually two-axle, four-axle or six-axle and carry goods such as iron parts and beams.

Transportation with roofed wagons

Covered wagons, which are usually made as two axles or four axles, provide more security for the movement of goods. Because the design of these wagons is such that after the goods are placed inside, the wagon door is closed and sealed, and your goods are safe from any damage such as damage caused by sunlight, oxygen, moisture, etc.

Transportation with tank wagons

Tank wagons, which are made as two axles or four axles, are used to transport fuel and all kinds of liquids.

Transporting fuel and liquids by truck is always faced with many problems, including low security, and if the shipment is of a large volume, transporting it by truck involves a lot of cost, this is if using tank wagons. , fuel shipments can be sent to the destination country with the highest security, in the shortest possible time and at the lowest cost.

Transportation with refrigerated wagons

Refrigerated wagons are another type of wagons used in the rail transportation industry. As their name suggests, these wagons are suitable for transporting perishable materials such as meat, vegetables, dairy products, etc. Also, these wagons have a professional cooling system that automatically adjusts the temperature of the refrigerator during the trip.

Transportation with short edge and long edge wagons

Short edge and long edge wagons are used in the transportation of different materials. Of course, if we want to provide a more precise application of each one, we can say that short-sided wagons are used to transport iron and construction materials, etc., and long-sided wagons are used to transport goods such as minerals and industrial goods.

It is worth mentioning that these types of wagons have a high ability to carry heavy loads and can even carry several tons of loads.

Import through rail transport

The most products that enter Iran through rail transport:

Rail import of iron, steel and iron bars
Rail import of aluminum sheet, brass, copper and other metals
Rail import of chemical fertilizers
Rail import of cotton and cotton yarn
Rail import of industrial machinery
Rail import of food such as rice, wheat, corn

Iran’s railway route to foreign countries

Connection with the countries of Central Asia including: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, China, Russia and Ukraine through the Sarkhas border.
Communication with Turkey through the Razi border and other European countries that have a common rail line with Turkey.
The communication of Pakistan goes through the border
Communication with Azerbaijan through Astara border

Qoqnous commercial services in the field of rail import

Carrying out customs duties related to rail transportation at the origin
Payment of wagon fees
Sending a report on the status of the shipment
Unloading the goods from the wagon at the relevant customs and transporting them to the warehouse or loading them directly into the container
Warehousing services in covered warehouses in Iranian customs

Export through rail transport

Iran has a lot of natural resources that can help the country’s economy develop through its export to foreign countries such as: Turkey, Russia, China and Central Asia. Due to the fact that mineral and petrochemical cargoes are exported in large volumes, using the rail transportation method is more economical and cost-effective.

The most exported products by railway are:

Export of petrochemicals by rail
Export of construction materials and materials by rail
Bitumen and asphalt export by rail
Food export by rail
Export of metals by rail
Round shaft export by rail
Coal export by rail

Qoqnous commercial services in the field of rail exports

Carrying out customs duties for export through rail transport
Obtaining a transportation license from the Islamic Republic of Iran Rail Transportation Organization
Obtaining a rail transportation license from Iranian customs
Loading the cargo in the wagon for export
Unloading and transporting to the destination customs warehouse
Loading at destination customs warehouse
Transporting goods to the final destination

Rail transportation costs

Have you ever wondered how much rail transportation costs are? The costs related to this type of transportation depend on various parameters, the most important of which are mentioned below:

Cargo dimensions and weight
The distance from the country of origin to the country of destination
Type of delivery: delivery at the customs, delivery at the door of the place
Nature of goods: fragile, dangerous goods, toxic, flammable
The cost of cargo insurance
Cost related to loading, unloading, storage and clearance of goods

Advantages and disadvantages of using different types of rail transportation

This method of transportation, like other methods of land transportation, air transportation, and sea transportation, has its own advantages and disadvantages, which we explain below.

Advantages of using rail transport

Use of non-fossil fuel that saves fuel.
Reducing air pollution and noise pollution compared to other methods
Weather conditions do not affect this type of transportation.
In this method of transportation, the possibility of accidents, fires and any other accidents is less than other methods and the goods are very safe.
Comparing rail transportation with truck transportation, it can be said that this method is faster, it is able to carry much more cargo than a truck.
Transporting on a larger scale leads to lower costs, as less manpower and energy are used.
This method is very suitable and economical for transporting minerals in high volume.
Reducing the stopping time and thus reducing the time to reach the destination of the goods
Reducing road casualties
Ability to carry dangerous goods
The most economical method of transportation among all methods

Disadvantages of using rail transport

Despite the many advantages of using the rail transportation method, it also has disadvantages:

Not every commodity can be exported by rail
Every country does not have the ability to export and import in this way.

final word

In this article, we examined the method of importing and exporting goods through rail transportation, the laws related to it, the most important export and import products through rail, its advantages and disadvantages, and we learned that the best method for exporting and importing large volumes of cargo is is up. Because rail transportation is the safest and most economical way to send cargo.

If you intend to send your manufactured products such as minerals, petrochemicals, etc. in large volume to other countries, we suggest that you use the rail transportation system. Dear businessmen and traders, you can safely entrust us with the process of exporting and importing goods through rail transportation. You can also contact Qoqnous business experts to get more information and free advice.