Financial Tribune- Plans are underway to electrify a railroad connecting Tehran to the city of Tabriz in East Azarbaijan Province in northwestern Iran, the new CEO of Islamic Republic of Iran Railways said.

�Negotiations are underway to raise investment to electrify the Tehran-Tabriz Railroad,� Saeed Mohammadzadeh was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.

�This would increase the railroad�s speed to 200 kilometers per hour,� he said, without elaborating on the details of the negotiations. Electrification of railroads has recently been high on the government�s agenda. Iran has been in talks with Germany�s Siemens as well as Chinese companies to electrify the Tehran-Mashhad Railroad. In October, Germany�s Siemens signed a contract to supply components for 50 diesel-electric locomotives, which will be used in the 926-km railroad, to Iran�s MAPNA Group. Another agreement was signed between the two companies to jointly manufacture 70 electric locomotives for the route.