Travelling by train is one of the most common ways of transportaion in Iran. Despite being old and often times slow, trains have proved cheaper and safer than any other transportation means in the country. While most of Iran's tracks were laid during the Shah of Iran before the 1979 revolution, for a more expensive ticket, modern and fast trains are also available for major routes. These are five images of an ongoing series I shot while travelling to my hometown Shahrud (a smalll city half way through Tehran-Mashhad route).
A man is bidding farewell to his family behind a train window as the train is waiting in Tehran’s main train station and is about to set off to Mashhad on a mild winter morning. Oddly for any public place in Iran, photography is often times allowed in and outside trains. 3/19/2012
A man and his son have no tickets and have to sit in the cramped head area of the wagon next to the toilet. Second and third class wagons/trains are anything but comfortable even for the passengers with tickets. 3/19/2012
Two students are travelling on a ‘second class bus wagon’ on a cold winter day. They are not related to each other. The wagon is yet to become warm as the air condition was out of order for a few hours in the freezing morning. 12/30/2012
A train is at a small station en route to Mashhad. These old trains were acquired second-hand from European countries many years ago. A yellow sign reads “Tehran-Mashhad, Salon 11”. The 860 km-trip (535 miles) takes about 14 hours. Sheets, blankets and pillows are provided to ‘6-bed first class’ passengers. 12/30/2012
A man is travelling on a ‘6-bed first class’ and lying down on a ‘second floor’ bed. There are 3 rows of beds which can be folded and fall back on the wall. Once folded, the first row becomes the bottom seat, and the second row the back seat. Train and tracks are often old and slow. Many prefer to pay a bit more to be able to sleep during the long travels. 12/17/2012
Ali Nooorani
