Description　　Introduction of modern industries and true effects of modernism on Iran began with Fatali Shah and Naserolddeen Shah’s travels to Europe but was seriously expanded only during the rule of

Description

　　Introduction of modern industries and true effects of modernism on Iran began with Fatali Shah and Naserolddeen Shah’s travels to Europe but was seriously expanded only during the rule of Reza Shah. The period of transfer from an agricultural to an industrial society in Iran happened because of: Amir Kabir’s activities including the establishment of a poly-technique school called Darolfonun in Tehran, introduction of electricity and modern industries in an European style, appearance of modern methods and instruments, growth of technology, mass production of goods by big industries in new spaces, arrival of new modes of communication such as post and lastly a huge change in intercity relations because of railways. As a matter of fact, the idea of railways construction in Iran initially emerged in the second half of the 19^th century during the Qajar era as a result of the expansion of political and cultural relations between Iran and Europe.

　　Railway can be regarded as a turning point for comprehensive developments in Iran. These developments include a wide spectrum of various economical, commercial, social, cultural and even political aspects in a sensitive and important period of contemporary world history. Under the Pahlavi regime, the process of moving towards modernism gained momentum and railway became the main pedestal of development in Iran. Consequently the 1394 kilometers long Trans-Iranian Railway was built with a width of 1435mm and 90 working stations along its route. It starts at a point north of Torkaman port located southeast of the Caspian Sea. After going through Sari and Qaem-shahr cities, the railway enters the mountainous region of Alborz through the high Firooz-kooh Pass which is linked with Tehran and Varamin Plain by numerous bridges and tunnels. Further on after crossing flat lands of Qom and Arak, the Trans-Iranian Railway penetrates into Zagros highlands in Lorestan Province and passing through a large number of tunnels and bridges reaches Andimeshk situated in the low Kuzestan Plain. Finally extending to the vicinity of Dezful, Ahwaz and its grand bridge on Karoon, the Trans-Iranian Railway is divided into two branches ending separately at Khoram-shahr and Imam-Khomeini ports on the Persian Gulf.

　　Among the unique characteristics of this route, mention can be made of geographical variety, specific landscapes of multiple climates of Iran as well as its amazing views. A complete collection of beautiful natural resources including mountain ranges, ponds, peaks, slopes, forests, plains and grasslands as well as deserts and steppes can be seen on this course belonging to a variety of weather conditions such as temperate, humid, arid and hot.

　　Thanks to the construction of the Trans-Iranian Railway, a new a genre of architecture was introduced which had a huge effect on the architecture of the time. Stations and residential structures related to railways were planned based on local and traditional architecture, craftsmanship and climate producing a specific kind of architecture. Location of railway stations, their affiliated architectural structures as well as their modern design has been aspired by the western influence mixed with indigenous Iranian architecture paving the way for future expansions and specific developments in architecture and urban planning on its course. Altogether the length of tunnels and bridges built for this route amount to more than one hundred kilometers. Major challenges facing the expansion of this network included natural topography, shortage of roads, lack of equipment and machinery as well as the necessity of creating basic infrastructures. Therefore, construction of a remarkable number of dykes, bridges and tunnels was considered as a great engineering achievement at the time. For example, despite the shortage of technical equipment and facilities at the time, bridges such as Veresk and Sekhat-tala with various heights and spans were built at hard-accessed points of deserts or highlands and they can be regarded as among the first bridge-building experiments in Iran based on modern technical and engineering calculations using construction materials like metal and concrete. Additionally, several bridges such as Goduk and Chahar-abdiz were built at various heights taking into consideration detailed calculations for various gradients and curvatures using minimal facilities. Therefore the above-cited instances can be considered as among technical and engineering masterpieces of the contemporary period of time.

　　By examining the effect of this branch of industry on general cultural, social and economic growth of Iran, its key role becomes even more evident. Construction of the railway not only accelerates transportation in economic and commercial spheres but also shows a new cultural influence coming from cultural interactions and social relations with distant western and European cultures. In addition to mutual effects on the most important civilization pillar i.e. architecture, the industry has deeply influenced the life of Iranians and their communication with the west resulting in the special cultural landscape of the railway across north and south of Iran. Actually the route encompasses many natural-historical monuments belonging to various western countries. These monuments have been transformed into a unique cultural-industrial landscape. Generally, the development process of the railway phenomenon has given rise to rural and urban expansions as well as exceptional cultural interactions which have carried different outstanding values in various periods of time.  Furthermore, this has played a vital role in the development and transformation of the fabric and form of towns and villages en route during several decades leading to the formation of modern industries in the majority of regions under its influence. During the execution and realization of this large scale national plan which acted as the infrastructure for many modern industries of Iran, numerous factories and facilities were established to serve its purposes representing part of the history of Iranian industry. Among them are: a large number of railway stations, hospitals, churches as well as several road building, metallurgy and sleeper (traverse) plants.

　　The first official document mentioning railway in Iran was the letter sent from Napoleon the third to Naserolddeen Shah in 1858 which pointed out the start of operations related to railway during the nineteenth century under the rule of Qajar dynasty although the construction phase began under the reign of Pahlavi dynasty. As a matter of fact, major operations began in Mehr 1306 SAH and culminated in 27th Mordad 1317 SAH following the linkage of northern and southern lines. Later on the Trans-Iranian Railway was officially inaugurated in 3^rd Shahrivar of 1317 SAH and was open to public use. Since then, it has retained its key role on cultural interaction and development of urban, rural and tribal or nomadic life of Iranian people. Additionally, its historical, technical, engineering, cultural, economic and commercial values have been preserved within the framework of its main function.