Navigate from Tehran Railway Station (Rah-Ahan) to Sari Railway Station across a span of 300km.
Scenery Highlights
Veresk Arch Bridge ('Victory Bridge' / Pol-e Piroozi) — 110 m high 1936 masonry arch over the Veresk gorge, built without metal reinforcement in the original cement-mortar-and-brick core; a 66 m primary arch with a 10 m rise and a 1,000 m radius curve traversing the structure
Three Golden Lines (Se Khat-e Tala) — triple-switchback spiral on the Firuzkuh descent where the track crosses over itself down a sheer cliff face on the south side of the Alborz
Hyrcanian Forests — UNESCO-listed ancient broadleaf forests (relict of the Tertiary era) blanketing the northern slopes from Pol-e Sefid down to Qaemshahr, dominated by Persian ironwood (Parrotia persica), beech, oak and hornbeam
Crossing the Alborz climatic divide — from arid 1,200 m central plateau (Tehran) to humid 20 m Caspian lowlands (Sari) in under 8 hours, passing through five distinct vegetation zones
Talar and Babol river gorges threading the northern descent below Veresk, with views into the Mazandaran rice and tea terraces
Quick Facts
Duration
7.75 hours
Distance
300 km
Est. Price
Affordable to moderate (362,000–880,000 IRR per person, depending on class)
Meals: None (Raja restaurant car serves hot meals and tea for purchase)
Ensuite: No
Meals: None (Raja restaurant car serves hot meals and tea for purchase)
Ensuite: No
Meals: Welcome tea service and bottled water
Ensuite: No
Engine / Locomotive
Diesel-electric locomotives (modern passenger services use Class GT26CW and Mapna/ADL RC4 diesel-electric units, sometimes double-headed on the Firuzkuh grade; the original 1930s stock was American-built ALCO and Baldwin 1'D1' (2-8-8-2) articulated mallets for the heavy mountain work, plus Persia-1 and Persia-2 class 2-8-0 and 2-10-0 for lighter duties)
Locomotive Weight
Approximately 120–140 tonnes for mainline diesel-electric units; the original 1930s ALCO 2-8-8-2 mallet weighed around 130 tonnes in working order
Track Gauge
1,435 mm (standard gauge)
Braking Technology
Air brakes on all modern diesel-electric passenger stock; Westinghouse-style air brake on the 1930s steam stock, with vacuum brake capability retained on a small number of heritage Raja excursion trains
Route Engineering Challenges
Veresk Bridge (Pol-e Piroozi) — 110 m masonry arch bridge, one of the world's most dramatic railway bridges, built 1934–1936 without metal reinforcement in the original cement-mortar-and-brick core; trains slow to walking pace for safe crossing
Three Golden Lines (Se Khat-e Tala) — triple-switchback spiral on the Firuzkuh descent where the track crosses over itself down a sheer cliff face, requiring careful speed management and conductor signalling
Alborz Mountain crossing — over 60 tunnels and 100 bridges (some 1,000+ m long) in 60 km between Firuzkuh and Pol-e Sefid, with gradients up to 2.8% and reverse curves on tight radius
Rapid altitude and climate change — from 1,200 m arid plateau (Tehran) to 2,000+ m Alborz crest then down to 20 m humid Caspian (Sari) in 300 km, with five vegetation zones, putting heavy thermal stress on rails and rolling stock
Seismic activity — the Alborz is an active seismic belt (Manjil-Rudbar 1990 M7.4 was 60 km west); bridges and cuttings designed with flexible masonry tolerances and ongoing seismic retrofit programmes
Slope stability and rockfall — the Firuzkuh and Veresk gorges experience seasonal rockfall and occasional landslides; Raja operates a year-round maintenance-of-way (MOW) team monitoring cutting walls and tunnel portals
Single-track operation with limited passing loops between Firuzkuh and Qaemshahr; the daily Tehran and Sari services are timetabled to cross at passing loops at Pol-e Sefid and Zirab
Total Network Length
1,394 km (full Trans-Iranian: Bandar Imam Khomeini on the Persian Gulf to Bandar Torkaman on the Caspian)
Tehran–Sari Scenic Section
300 km via the Firuzkuh corridor
Construction Period
1927–1938 (commissioned by Reza Shah Pahlavi)
Construction Workforce
Over 40,000 workers; 3,000+ died during construction
Number of Tunnels
60+ on the entire 1,394 km line
Number of Bridges
100+ including the Veresk and Pol-e Sefid arch viaducts
Tallest Bridge
Veresk Bridge — 110 m above the gorge floor
Longest Tunnel
Kuhin Tunnel on the central section (~2.8 km)
Route Character
Single-track, diesel operated (steam until 1962 on the mountain section), scenic mountain segment with steep gradients up to 2.8%
Operator
Raja Passenger Train Company (subsidiary of Islamic Republic of Iran Railways / RAI)