Seven stations in Tehran’s subway network will become operational next month, the head of Tehran Metro Company said.
Visiting subway construction sites on Saturday, Ali Emam added that after the installation of elevators, escalators and signage, the stations will come on stream, IRIB News reported.
According to Emam, the stations are namely Sattari, Ashrafi Esfahani, Yadegar-e Emam and Shahrak-e Azmayesh in the northwest section of Line 6 and Ahang, Mahallati and Qiam Square in the southeast flank of Line 7.
“Besides the stations, a second entrance will be added to Sanat Square Station in Line 7,” he added.
Line 6 will be the longest line in the subway network, stretching over 38 km with 27 stations upon completion. It connects Shahr-e Rey in southeast Tehran to the famed Sulaqan rural district in the northwest.
At a later stage, the line will expand to Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine in the ancient district of Rey in southern Tehran.
The 27-km Line 7, which connects the northwest to southeastern parts of Tehran, will have 25 stations after completion.
Local Trains
Acknowledging the domestic producers’ efforts to indigenize subway trains, Emam said the localization of train parts has risen from 30% to 85%.
“Experts believe that in case the Iran-made parts are mass produced, the total price of an eight-wagon train will decline by 30%,” he added.
The official said the government is committed to supplying 2,000 train cars for Tehran Metro during the Sixth Five-Year Development Plan (2016-21).
“The trains were to be assembled with 55% of locally-made parts. Fortunately, with the support of technology ecosystem, the domestic production capacity has risen remarkably over the past few years, gradually making Tehran’s subway self-sufficient and sanction-proof,” he said.
Emam noted that a prototype of the indigenized subway train will soon be unveiled by Tehran Municipality and expected domestic producers to receive enough finance to help streamline the capital’s old subway system.
Cash Crunch
Subway expansion using local potentials have been hindered by financial deficiencies for a long time.
Last month, Emam told reporters that Tehran’s subway network requires 20 trillion rials ($77.22 million) to launch 10 stations in lines 3, 6 and 7.
"Each station requires 300 billion rials to 1.5 trillion rials [$1.15-5.8 million]. The money would also cover workers' salary for two months," he added.
Last year (ended March 2020), Tehran Municipality was authorized to issue 15 trillion rials ($57.9 million) of participatory bonds for streamlining the public transportation system. The subway’s share of the bonds was 10 trillion rials ($38.61 million), which was supposed to be paid by October 2020.
“Only 2 trillion rials ($7.72 million) were encashed and delivered in early January,” Emam said.
Manaf Hashemi, TM’s deputy for traffic and transportation affairs, said the municipality has promised to encash the remaining bonds issued last year and help expedite subway construction.
In October 2020, Tehran City Council ratified a motion allowing TM to raise another 40 trillion rials ($154.44 million) through participatory bonds for developing public transportation in the current fiscal year.
Officials believe that the new stations connecting the east to the west of the city will considerably reduce traffic congestion and air pollution.
Metro’s Budget Deficit
Last September, Mohammad Alikhani, the head of Tehran City Council’s Transportation Commission, said the subway’s network in the capital needs 2 quadrillion rials ($7.72 billion) for the construction of unfinished lines, purchase of train cars and standardization of equipment.
He added that due to the negative effects of US sanctions since the summer of 2018, Iran’s rial is losing value against hard currencies, making it a tough task to expand and renew the ailing public transportation in Tehran.
Since the US reimposed sanctions against Iran in 2018, the rial has lost 70% of its value against the greenback over the past year. On Monday, the US dollar was trading at 260,000 rials in Tehran while it hardly fetched 42,000 rials in March 2018.
“A train wagon cost 50 billion rials a couple of years ago, but now the price reaches 200 billion rials, which Tehran Municipality cannot presently afford,” Alikhani said.
Mohsen Hashemi, the head of TCC, also expressed disquiet over Tehran subway’s shortfalls and said, “While the subway lines have been extended around the city by 80 kilometers in the past several years, not enough trains have been added to the metro’s network.”
Tehran’s subway stretches over 220 kilometers and comprises seven lines with nearly 120 stations. Lines 3, 6 and 7 are yet to become fully operational.
