In 2005, 2014 and 2019, Iran Railways Company (RAI) has attempted to define a vision and mission for Iranian rail transportation. Unfortunately, its approval level has not been beyond the Board of Directors of the RAI. In other words, the aforementioned statements are not considered a binding document for stakeholders in the Intercity rail sector.



The first step towards sustainable development, progress and targeted growth of Iran’s rail sector is to have a visionary, magnificent and stimulating vision in the long term horizon.



In this article, the history of defining a vision and mission in the field of rail transportation in Iran and several selected prominent and leading regional and international countries and institutions is presented. The following steps have been taken to propose a vision and mission for Iran's rail transport in the next 20 years (1424) :



Vision: "The rail transport system is at the average level of leading countries in the horizon of 1424 in various aspects of rail governance such as technology, productivity, competitiveness, attractiveness, accessibility, safety and the use of artificial intelligence



Mission: Step by step realization of the vision of Iran's intercity rail transport in the horizon of 1424, based on macro strategies that ensure reducing the gap and gradually achieving macro goals, key performance indicators and key performance results in a dynamic, continuous manner compared to leading countries during four 5 year rail development plans and achieving maximum satisfaction of stakeholders in freight and passenger transport



It is proposed that in formulating a comprehensive law on Iran's intercity rail transport, based on the approved vision and mission, steps be taken to define macro goals and strategies, the structure of the presence of actors, and the formulation of key performance indicators and key result indicators.