Although railway electrification in Iran was started in 1975,it was stopped for almost 30 years.A contract for electrification of the Tehran-Mashhad double-track line and the supply of 70 electric locomotives was awarded in 2009.[42]Speeds of up to 200 km/h for locomotive-hauled passenger trains and 250 km/h for tilting EMUs are expected to reduce existing journey times of 7.5 to 12 to less than 5 hours.As recently as July 2017 the Iranian Government has completed a loan agreement for the Tehran – Mashhad electrification project. Works on this project are expected to begin shortly.