The rising number of metro train accidents in Iran is due to a serious need of overhaul for most of the existing wagons, a new report has revealed.

The report published in an Iranian daily on Thursday says over 70 percent of the wagons active in Tehran-Karaj metro line are too old for operation, adding that about 45 percent of them should be stopped for major repairs.

According to the report, Tehran’s municipality hasn’t allocated enough budget for timely maintenance. Although money was available, the authorities opted for the expansion of lines instead of overhauling the existing fleet, the report said.

The Tehran metro network, with seven active lines stretching over 250 kilometers of railways and more than a thousand wagons,carrying over two million passengers a day.

Iran’s government faces a cash-crunch due to United States oil sanctions since 2018, and procurement problems because of international banking restrictions.

On Wednesday, a freight train traveling from Tehran to Mazandaran province derailed, causing material damage to over a dozen wagons. This was the second such accident in about a week.

More than 20 people were injured last week when two metro trains collided on the Line 5 of the Tehran metro on the Karaj-Golshahr railway.