Tehran Municipality is pushing forward the expansion of the capital’s subway system, with officials saying that economic headwinds and Covid-19 should not be a pretext for halting the initiative.
During a visit to the under-construction Line 6 on Sunday, Tehran Mayor Pirouz Hanachi said the development of subway system is a large-scale project and should receive the full support of state and private sectors, IMNA reported.
Stressing that financial shortcomings are the only factor impeding the subway’s completion, Hanachi noted that local banks, which have financially backed the project, are facing limits. He called for the Central Bank of Iran to extend financial resources and bridge the gaps.
“We are considering all possible channels to provide financial resources. The work cannot be stopped under the pretext of economic limitations,” he added.
“Work on the unfinished metro lines 6 and 7 should be resumed,” Hanachi emphasized, adding that areas not covered by the subway network, such as Tehran’s District 22, should also be considered in subway expansion projects.
Tehran’s District 22 covers around 5,500 hectares in the western part of the capital and includes residential, recreational and tourism facilities.
"As urban development increases in the area, traffic congestion will definitely grow. So, in addition to developing the urban transport fleet in the region, the establishment of a subway line to ease road traffic will be necessary," he said.
Accompanying the mayor in his tour, Ali Emam, the CEO of Tehran Metro Company, provided an overview of the company’s development schemes for the current Iranian year (started March 20). He said although lack of financial resources has impeded subway expansion projects, 11 stations are expected to become operational by the end of the current fiscal year (March 2021).
He added that 7 kilometers of Line 6 along its northwestern flank, covering six stations, is ready for launch, and in its southern segment, the line will have two new stations.
When complete, Line 6 will stretch over 38 km and have 27 stations. It will be the longest line in the subway network and connect Shahr-e Rey in southeast Tehran to the famed Sulqan rural district in the northwest.
Tehran Mayor Pirouz Hanachi said the development of subway system is a large-scale project and should receive the full support of state and private sectors
In Line 7, Emam added, four new stations are planned.
The 27-km Line 7, which connects the northwest to southeastern parts of Tehran, will have 25 stations after completion.
The schemes also envisage equipping the already operating and new stations with elevators, escalators, signage, ventilation system and lighting.
Emam said the completion of two transportation terminals at Shahrak-e Ekbatan and Kolahdouz stations in the far western and eastern part of Line 4 is high on the current year’s agenda.
Referring to financial issues, he said the budget bill passed for 2020-21 earmarks 28 trillion rials ($158.6 million) for Tehran Metro’s expansion.
Emam noted that last year, Tehran Metro earned 10 trillion rials ($54.9 million) by selling participatory bonds via a local agent bank.
Of the total amount, the bank paid only a small portion to the company and 9.1 trillion ($50 million) of which are yet to be delivered.
Tehran’s subway network stretches over 220 kilometers and comprises seven lines (1 to 7) with nearly 120 stations.
Prevailing Shortfalls
Tehran subway development has seen stoppage, financially hard days and lags that are mainly blamed by experts on mismanagement and lack of budget.
In early May, Mohammad Alikhani, the head of Transportation Commission of Tehran City Council, said the capital city’s subway system faces serious shortcomings that will not be obviated even in two decades, if policymaking processes and budget management are not overhauled.
“The subway network still lacks 3,000 train cars to facilitate 10 million daily travels … There are around 1,300 wagons currently operating in Tehran’s subway, 30% of which need to be upgraded,” he said.
Alikhani blamed the frustrating situation on US sanctions and said earlier, each train car cost 50 billion rials ($275,000).
But since the Iranian rial considerably lost its value against the greenback after sanctions were renewed in the summer of 2018, each wagon now costs 170 billion rials ($934,000), which is too expensive.
The US dollar was sold at 182,000 rials on Monday while it fetched 42,000 rials in March 2018.
Outside Help
Various state-backed and industrial institutions, however, are assisting Tehran Metro managers to materialize a decent subway system.
In early May, Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh wrote on Twitter that the ministry has invested $15 million to help expand the capital’s subway transportation network.
Zanganeh noted that the money has been supplied from revenue generated from fuel rationing scheme introduced in November 2019.
“The ministry paid 8.3% of financial aid to Tehran Metro in mid-February and the remaining 91.6% were delivered in April,” he said.
“The monetary aid is expected to help Tehran Metro Company develop the city’s subway system and ease challenges faced by the company.”
Earlier in January, Esfahan Steel Company signed an agreement with Tehran Metro Company for providing 800 tons of rails to boost the development of urban and inter-city railroads.
The agreement was part of TM’s plans for developing urban and intercity railroad transportation using domestic resources.
Officials believe that utilizing the local potentials can help curb the country's dependence on foreign producers and reduce the impact of harsh US sanctions imposed on Iranian domestic industries.
