Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has inaugurated a crucial link to a national rail project which connects the east with the west once fully developed.

The rail link was made operational between the capital Tehran and the western city of Hamedan over a distance of 267 kilometers.

Starting from Tehran, it crosses several cities including Robat Karim, Saveh and Famenin before reaching its final destination, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported.

Passenger trains can travel at a speed of 160 kilometers per hour (km/h) on this track. The minimum speed for cargo trains shall be 120 km/h.

The project – which is expected to have a passenger capacity of 2 million people per year and a cargo transportation capacity of 4 million tons annually - was inaugurated during a visit by President Rouhani to the city on Monday morning.

A train carrying Iran's President Hassan Rouhani arrives in Hamedan from the capital Tehran. (Photo by IRNA)

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani during the inauguration of a crucial rail link between Tehran and Hamedan. (Photo by IRNA)

In a speech at the inauguration ceremony of the project, he emphasized that developing national links was a crucial part of his administration's agenda.

Rouhani emphasized that serious efforts were still needed to expedite Iran’s rail development projects, and specifically called for attempts to cut red tape which he said was already obstructing the progress of those projects.

He also stressed that Iran’s rail network would be connected to the global rail system in the near future, stressing that his administration had devised adequate plans to the same effect.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Nasser Nikbakht, the governor general of Hamedan, told IRNA that the railway to the city would be connected to Kurdestan Province in the future.

This, Nikbakht added, would help the development of Iran’s western regions, connect the country’s east with the west and help facilitate Iran’s trade activities with its western neighbors.