Urban managers are rushing ahead with plans to push the development of subway lines of Shiraz and the Iranian capital Tehran, to improve mobility options and curb air pollution.
In Shiraz, the provincial center of Fars, five stations of the unfinished metro Line 2 are expected to become operational by the beginning of the next Iranian year (March 2021), the city’s mayor said.
According to Heydar Eskandarpour, the first station, Qahramanan, in the line’s southern flank, as well as the subsequent Adelabad, Dolat and Amir Kabir stations are near completion for launch, IRNA reported.
“By reaching the operational Imam Hossein Station in northern Shiraz, the 10-km line will soon link the south to the north of Shiraz,” he said.
Eskandarpour noted that a team of experts regularly visits the construction sites to ensure the quality of work.
The first and only operational stop on Line 2, which links up with the working Line 1, has a buildup area of 2,540 square meters with a 1,500 square-meter yard.
Its initial phase was launched in February 2019 and the second part was completed in late September.
Shiraz Metro Company’s CEO Hassan Moradi said 250 billion rials ($957,800) have been spent on the station.
Planners have designed six lines for Shiraz to cover 90 kilometers. Since Line 1 opened in 2014, an estimated 8 million commuters have used the trains annually. The line stretches over 24.5 km with 20 stations.
The construction of Line 1 started in 2001 and its first phase became operational in late 2014.
The 15-km Line 2, which is under construction, will have 20 stations when completed.
Plans are under review for the construction of seven-station Line 3 that will be 10 km long. The design of routes for lines 4, 5 and 6 will start soon.
Financial Issues
The Shiraz mayor earlier said the expansion of Shiraz subway is part of the municipality’s agenda to help make life easier for its residents.
Because of mismanagement and lack of funds, the construction of Line 1 took 18 years.
“Hopefully, Line 2 will be constructed faster. If bonds are issued for financing Line 2, the project would become fully operational in three years,” Eskandarpour said.
“For constructing Line 1, participatory bonds worth 7 trillion rials ($26.81 million) were issued. With the support of the Central Bank of Iran, Shiraz Municipality plans to issue investment bonds to the tune of 6 trillion rials [$23 million] for the construction of Line 2.”
Talks are underway between Shiraz Municipality and private companies over the construction of the metro’s Line 3.
“The municipality does not have the resources to finance the project on its own. Therefore, within the legal framework, we are looking for private partners to invest in the project,” he said.
Last year, an agreement was forged between Shiraz Municipality and Shahr Atieh Investment Company, affiliated to Shahr Bank (City Bank), based on which the former will invest 13.5 trillion rials ($51.72 million) in building Line 2.
On the investment firm’s website, the total construction cost has been estimated at $500 million. Close to $250 million are required for building the tunnel ($12.5 million per kilometer) and the rest for buying the train cars and other equipment.
Subway construction costs vary in different countries, depending on land value, raw materials and labor costs. For instance, Madrid’s Metrosur line is 41 km long with 28 stations and was completed in four years for $58 million/km. Singapore’s Circle Line runs 35 km with 28 stations and costs $4.8 billion, or $130 million/km.
Subway Development in Tehran
In the capital city of Tehran, officials are working to expand the metro network to new areas. Line 10, mostly covering the capital’s District 22 is currently the main subway expansion project.
The line’s construction, which is the largest urban development project in the past several years, was launched in early September. The project has been split into five phases, the first of which covers 12 kilometers in the northwestern part of the city, linking Kouhsar in District 5 to the international exhibition center.
Khatam-al Anbiya, the construction arm of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, is the contractor of the project’s first phase.
According to media reports, Tehran Municipality’s investment organization is planning to inject non-cash resources worth 22 trillion rials ($84.29 million) to boost the project.
Shokrollah Banar, the head of the organization, said TM’s investment is in the form of immovable resources.
The next phase will most probably be the line’s western flank in District 22.
According to Tehran Metro's CEO Ali Emam, the reason for prioritizing the construction of the northern and western sections’ Line 10 is that citizens in these areas have poor access to public means of transportation.
The district spans over 5,500 hectares in the western part of the capital and includes vast residential, recreational and tourism facilities.
“All Line 10 sections are fully mapped and ready, and Tehran Metro Company is prepared to break ground on the project in the eastern part of the city by the beginning of the next [Iranian] year [March 2021],” he said.
The timely start, however, depends on the financial resources allocated to the project.
Emam noted that in case no barriers emerge, Line 10 will become fully operational within five years.
With 35 stations, Line 10 is to start from Qanat Kosar in the east and link up with Vardavard Station on Line 5 that connects Sadeqiyeh to the west of Karaj, the provincial center of Alborz.
At present, the capital's subway stretches over 220 kilometers and comprises seven lines (1 to 7) with nearly 120 stations. Lines 3, 6 and 7 are yet to become fully operational.
