TEHRAN, Iran � Iran�s development of its rail sector has been slow for more than three decades. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, only 3,418 miles of railway have been built to extend the existing 2,796 miles of track.

A report released in�January by the parliament�s Research Center said that�the annual budget proposed by President Hassan Rouhani's government would�increase�allocations�for the development of the rail sector by 12.8%,�to about�21.26 trillion rials ($702.2 million at the official exchange rate) for the fiscal year ending March 20, 2017.

The expansion of the rail budget, however, still appears to be far from sufficient. Addressing aging rail cars and other infrastructure deficiencies will requires�billions of dollars in investment.

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This article was written by Alireza Ramezani for Al-Monitor on Apr. 7, 2016. Alireza Ramezani earned a master's degree in journalism from Cardiff University in the UK. He has worked for various media organizations and businesses in Iran since 1999.