Northern Railway, a pure opportunity for the development of domestic and foreign tourism

North tourism train, which was a new idea and season in the tourism industry of Mazandaran’s green zone, these days needs serious attention and revision to remove some limitations.

According to IRNA reporter, the railway track of the Northern Railway is 382 kilometers long, with 95 bridges and more than 1400 crossings, it passes through the plains of Golestan, as well as the forested and mountainous areas of Mazandaran. This railway line is usually attracted by foreign tourists due to its many tourist attractions.

The tourist train was one of the indigenous projects that was launched in 2017 for transformation and diversity in Mazandaran’s tourism industry. This project, which faced ups and downs during its first year and was stopped for a while, according to Qatebe, the officials and trustees, has been well received by tourists and also local residents of the train route.

As it was said, the Mazandaran tourist train on the northern railway track was one of the emerging tourist attractions of the province, which was able to attract many enthusiasts in a short period of time and brought many families from all over the country to visit the heart of the Alborz mountain range. make the transition

The northern tourism train was initially carried out on 2 routes from Sari to Swadkoh and Sari to Inche Brun in Golestan province, which was added from Nowruz 98 to Tehran to Swadkoh, a route that, according to eyewitnesses and tourism and railway officials of the province, was welcomed. It was good.

Mazandaran tourist train tours were for one day, which had the ability to move and explore 370 tourists every time, so that they can benefit from the natural attractions of Mazandaran’s green and unspoiled region. Although there is no accurate statistics on the amount of tourist movement through the tourist train of Mazandaran, but according to the officials of the Northern Railway, the reception of the tourist train project has been so impressive that many organizations and institutions in the province apply to use the one-day tour of the tourist train of Mazandaran for became their forces.

However, it has been a few days that the movement of this project, which was supposed to be a gem for the tourism of Mazandaran, has slowed down and stopped at times. According to the officials of Mazandaran Railway, the operation of the tourist train is currently scattered and we are almost witnessing the lack of promotion of this tourism phenomenon.

Vacancies of various tourism companies

As it was said, the tourist train of Mazandaran has almost stopped these days, and aside from the decrease in traffic, it must be stated that it is on the verge of shutting down.

The trustees of the railway field consider this problem to be related to tourism management, but at the same time, they believe that the lack of diversity in tourism companies is the biggest challenge of this project.

In this regard, the head of the Northern Railway General Administration told IRNA reporter: The operation of the tourist train has several weaknesses, which can be pointed to the weak communication between the railway and tourism management for formal planning and providing the necessary solutions and plans.

Rahman Masoumi continued: Unfortunately, this communication has not been established so far, and maybe the fault lies on both sides, and it is necessary to witness a change of procedure regarding this issue and take steps towards each other.

He also emphasized the sufficient capacity and good quality of the tourist train on both sides of the North Railway and said: Another important weakness in this area is the lack of tourism companies and the diversity of these companies. This capacity (tourist train) should not be limited to one group, and it is necessary that the groups of multiple tourism groups are working in the form of one company or different companies.

The director of the general administration of the Northern Railway stated: The railway is a service institution and does not have much connection with tourism activists, and it must be said that this department is under the responsibility of tourism management, but nevertheless, the Northern Railway is not allowed to use any project and series for the use of tourist trains. welcomes and is fully prepared to provide services.

Changed route for unknown reasons

It should be pointed out that the tourist train is a new design and must pass through the necks of many subjects. Of course, we should not lose sight of the fact that today the tourism industry is developing rapidly, so that not only the field of competition among countries has heated up, but also within each country, the heat of tourism competition has also reached the provinces, and the slightest neglect It can lead to change the direction of tourist’s taste and make Mazandaran to go to other places.

In proof of this claim, the Deputy Tourism Director of the General Department of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Crafts of Mazandaran stated in an interview with IRNA that currently half of the tourist trains that used to travel to Mazandaran are now moving to other provinces.

Mehran Hosni, referring to the irregular operation of tourist trains in Mazandaran, added: According to the latest information, the only operator of this project, which is a travel agency based in Tehran, has changed half of its trips to Lorestan province.

According to him, this issue requires some internal pathologies that can include a wide range of factors both in the field of travel services and executive factors and trustee institutions. In the past, the tourist train of Mazandaran has faced many challenges, which at one point discouraged tourists and travel groups active in this area.

The vice president of tourism did not mention these problems, but in the past, in some areas such as Swadkoh city, which was the most important destination of the tourist train, we witnessed incidents such as the opposition of the prosecutor’s office and law enforcement agencies to the traffic of this train and its tourists. But now, as can be seen in the words of the Vice-President of Tourism, discouragement may be one of the factors.

The weight of restrictions on capacity

Hosni further pointed to some other obstacles, such as the limitations of the tourist train in Mazandaran and said: Unfortunately, the tourist train, unlike traveling in the form of minivans, has limitations that can be limited to stops, tourists, long travel time. round trip) and the short duration of travel and stay.

Stating that trains have a specific route, he added: Unlike trains, buses and minivans have more flexibility, which places various destinations in the basket of tourist tours to visit.

The Deputy Tourism Director of Mazandaran Cultural Heritage Department also pointed out the short duration of one-day tourist train tours and said: A one-day trip with a train that takes approximately eight hours to go and eight hours to return is considered a short and tiring trip.

Of course, Hosni did not consider these issues to be the only definite factors and stated: We should talk to the operator to investigate the causes of the decrease in the tourist train movement in Mazandaran and North. This issue will be investigated and informed as soon as possible.

He further pointed out the immaturity of this plan and added: some obstacles and restrictions must be removed to reach maturity, and this can only be done with inter-agency cooperation and with the help of users’ and tourists’ opinions.

With these interpretations, now the tourist train of Mazandaran and the north must either stay at the station or make a transit on this tourist green line. It is a problem that requires the officials to have a serious, sensitive and quick input.