The article emphasizes on the improper competition between road and rail in the country and states that as long as this competition is not fair, there will be no financial growth in this sector. The author considers this distorted competitive environment as one of the main reasons for the major financial problems in the transportation industry of the country. In an interview with Seyyed Meysam Lajvardi, the director of the transportation group at the Center for Economic Studies of the University of Science and Industry and a rail transportation expert, he discusses some of the issues in the transportation sector of the country. Lajvardi, who has a degree in railway engineering from the University of Science and Industry and an executive management degree from the University of Tehran, talks about the unhealthy competition between rail and road, stating that “when this competition is not fair and balanced, it will naturally cause problems in the operational cycle and we can see the consequences of this in the support industry.”
This economic activist and member of the board of

You can read the detailed conversation about the peace agreement with Seyyed Meysam Lajvardi below.

Let’s start with the age of transportation. Despite efforts made, such as the Air Fleet Plan as one of the transportation challenges by the Research Center of the Parliament, it seems that nothing serious has happened. We also have this problem in the rail and road transportation sector. What is your opinion? What can different organizations do and what solution can be predicted to solve this issue?

Based on the research and studies I have conducted, I would like to inform you that, in terms of domestic production capacity, it is possible for our country to become self-sufficient in the production of rail vehicles, both locomotives and passenger and freight trains. We have also made good progress in the automotive industry. The same can be said for the ignition and dynamics systems. However, this knowledge has not been effectively transferred to the rail transportation sector, especially in terms of investment in locomotives. Considering that there is more space and accessibility, this work can be done there.

80 to 90 percent of the knowledge in the field of freight trains exists within the country and can be produced domestically. This number is between 40 to 60 percent in the passenger sector. It is even lower for locomotives, at around 20 to 30 percent. The main problem is that we do not reach complete self-sufficiency. We have seven companies producing rail vehicles, but our

You mentioned leasing. One of the prominent plans in the development of the aviation and rail sectors is leasing, which the Minister of Roads and Urban Development has repeatedly emphasized. In your opinion, how much can such plans contribute to the development of transportation in the country?

This is a triangle. One side of it is the producer. One side is the operator and one side is the government as a facilitator of financial issues. Previously, we used to finance and make heavy commitments to pay to other countries. But this has not happened internally and has not been made available to the producer. By injecting capital into the producer, a wagon can be produced and made available to the operator, and the initial capital can be repaid to the government by the operator over time, taking into account its profit. This creates a cycle and can solve the financial supply flow of this industry. Both the current and former Minister of Roads have mentioned the plan, but it has not been implemented in practice. One of the main and major reasons is the competitive environment between roads and rails. We do not have a small amount of rail-friendly cargo volume in the country. We have had about 50 million tons of cargo on rails. But the rail-friendly cargo volume in terms of access to

Let’s go back to heavy land transportation. In this area, we face self-ownership. While corporatism is recognized in the current world as taking the lead in obtaining formal licenses in this field. Has there been any effort to solve this problem of land transportation in Iran?

This is also one of the discussions that is being raised. It cannot be examined from one side alone. Many of these changes have social consequences. The transition from individual ownership to larger companies and cooperatives is met with social resistance. Mechanisms and policies must be put in place for this process to take place in order to monitor discussions on tariffs, the aging of fleets, and other discussions. There are models in the world and they should not be too complicated. There is successful trade in this field that can be used as a model and localized. However, research is needed and then it should move towards legislation and policy making, and finally implementation.

This means that in your belief, do we have both a weakness in knowledge and research in this field, as well as a weakness in law?

Yes. We must extract the native model using successful world trade. We must also move towards finding this model in policy making and implementation. It definitely has social resistance. Many people rely on this method for employment and income. Now, if intermediary companies take shape, they may have an influence on them, so a mechanism must be put in place that has the least consequences and is controllable.

Members of Parliament have agreed to establish a transportation development fund in order to improve the infrastructure and transportation fleet of the country. How much can such a resolution by the Parliament contribute to the development of transportation in the country and what are the prerequisites for the success of this plan?

From a legal standpoint, we have many good cases. For example, in the sixth development plan, we had very good plans to support rail transportation. In the discussion of revenues from oil sales, which should allocate a percentage to public and rail transportation, we have a law. In other places, we can have very good financial resources for rail transportation from fuel savings. From a legal perspective, there are many different laws that can support the rail transportation industry. However, the issue is that these laws must be enforced, and if they are not, there must be an institution behind it that forces the government to make it happen. Considering the economic conditions that have prevailed in the country, legislation and creating a framework will not solve the problem. That is, I mean it needs to be researched, a model needs to be developed, and it needs to move towards policymaking and legislation. Most importantly, until this law is enforced, this process will not be correct. We may not have many problems in

You, as a researcher and also as the manager of the transportation group at the Center for Economic Studies at one of the reputable universities in the country, think why this is not happening? In a situation where, according to you, we have laws but we have problems in the executive field. Where do you think the issue and weakness lie?

One aspect of the conflict of interest that it creates for some is that the Ministry of Roads, as a higher authority, has the responsibility for developing roads, ports, and rail transportation. Along with all of this, which is related to transportation, it also has the responsibility for providing housing and its related issues. This lack of specialization is also present in the fact that there is no comprehensive plan for transportation and everything is being done in a fragmented manner. If you look at the organizations under the Ministry of Roads, you will see that the Roads and Transportation Organization is moving forward with one mechanism, while the Railway Company is moving forward with another mechanism. They are not progressing and developing in a comprehensive and coordinated manner. Sometimes the interests of some of these organizations may conflict with the interests of other organizations. The Ministry of Roads, as a higher authority and a major policy maker, must enforce these issues through a legal process. You need to take a step up from the Ministry of Roads. Even within the

Given your emphasis on specializing the issue, we previously had a Ministry of Roads and Transportation which was formed by merging with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to create the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development. Do you think we should go back to that period, or should a specialized Ministry or institution be formed to handle this task?

Generally speaking, I am not in favor of merging the Ministry of Roads and Transportation with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. Each of these has its own specific issues and requires expertise. The person in charge of this ministry (Roads and Urban Development) may not be able to effectively enter both areas. It may be necessary for it to become more specialized. However, I do not believe that the Roads and Transportation Organization should become a ministry or a larger institution, or that the Road Company should become like this. If the Ministry of Roads is focused on the development of transportation in the country, it should have a comprehensive plan. Companies and organizations under its supervision should also be in line with this comprehensive plan. The independence of the Railway Company and the Roads and Transportation Organization as they are now is acceptable. But this lack of harmony in policies and implementation should be addressed by the Ministry of Roads and a comprehensive policy should be adopted.

In short, yes, I agree with separating the Ministry of Roads

As you mentioned in regards to the Ministry of Oil, one important issue is the discussion of fuel. In the past few years, the price of fuel has increased, resulting in an increase in the prices of parts and other goods. These price increases also affect shipping costs, adding to them. This directly affects the prices of goods in the country. Do you agree with what I have said, and what can be done to solve this issue in the country?

Goods must be transported in a specialized manner. Items that are large in volume and can be transported by rail, which consumes half the fuel of road transportation, should be transported by rail. Naturally, when these goods are transported on the road, they encounter problems such as tire wear, fuel consumption, and wear and tear on the truck and goods. As a result, we see an increase in the final price of products and inflation in society. If we can transport rail-friendly goods by rail and road-friendly goods by road, we will see fewer economic repercussions and a more efficient system. Currently, it can be said that the transportation system of the country is not efficient and effective. Our transportation companies are dissatisfied, both in the rail and road sectors. The people are dissatisfied. The final price of goods increases due to the rise in fuel and tire prices, or strikes, and these issues quickly affect the country’s economy. In order for this chain to be successful, there must be harmony and

This year, due to the coronavirus, we will probably not see many travels during Nowruz. However, we know that every year a large number of citizens die due to road accidents, especially during the Nowruz holidays. In your opinion, where is the problem? Can we attribute all the problems to the mistakes of drivers? Are our roads not a problem?

In the field of road transportation, significant progress has been made in the past decade in terms of fairness and justice. There is a discussion about surveillance systems on roads. The public culture has grown in terms of following traffic laws and regulations. This upward trend has stopped the increase in deaths and injuries from road accidents, and at least it has not increased significantly. However, this number is still quite high. But it can be said that the upward trend has been halted.

One of the main reasons for the high volume of accidents and injuries is the presence of heavy loads on roads. This is not just during the holiday season. The traffic is even more congested during holidays. But this is a continuous trend throughout the year. The main reason for this is that we have not transferred the loads that can be transported by rail to the railway. A load that needs to travel more than 500 kilometers is called a rail-friendly load. This load must be transported by rail. Naturally, if this happens,

Thank you for the time you have given to the peace line.