Three stations will come on stream in the under-construction Line 7 of Tehran Metro by the end of the current fiscal year (March 2022), the head of Tehran Metro Company said.
According to Ali Emam, the three stations include Towhid and Boustan-e Goftogou stations in the line’s central segment and Qiam Station in the line’s western flank, ISNA reported.
Towhid Station, which is prioritized in the inauguration schedule, is built at a depth of 43 meters, making it one of Tehran's deepest metro stops. As it connects districts 2, 6, 10 and 11 in the heart of the city, Towhid will be a busy station, he added.
The official noted that upon the launch of these three stations, the construction of Dadman and Ketab Square stations in the northern flank of the line will be accelerated.
The 27-km Line 7, which connects the northwest to southeastern parts of Tehran, will have 25 stations after completion.
Explaining the company’s concurrent expansion plans for the unfinished lines, Emam said the after the launch of the aforementioned Line 7 stations, focus will shift to the completion of Line 6.
“Plans are to complete the construction of the central segment of Line 6, comprising Haft-e Tir and Valiasr stations. Upon the completion of the two stations, the city center coverage of Line 6 will become complete,” he added.
Line 6 will be the longest route in the subway network, stretching over 38 km with 27 stations upon completion. It connects Shahr-e Rey in southeast Tehran to the Sulaqan rural district in the northwest.
Emam said construction work on Line 6 depends on the supply of financial resources.
“Encashing participation bonds issued by Tehran City Council is still pending due to the bureaucratic process,” he said, urging the banking system and the relevant authorities to ease the process for the development of the subway.
He emphasized that in a growing metropolis like Tehran, public transportation should ideally handle 75% of passengers' daily travels, with the subway accounting for 30%.
"Currently, the subway accounts for only 10% of daily travel. To increase the share of the subway in Tehran's transportation, the addition of new subway wagons is necessary,” Emam said.
Train Wagon Deficiency
In a talk with the local media, Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani said the under-construction Line 7 alone will necessitate at least 3,000 train wagons to operate at full capacity.
“This is while we are far behind schedule in terms of supplying new cars. The operating trains are rapidly deteriorating due to a lack of proper maintenance and restoration,” he added.
Zakani noted that in the best-case scenario, Tehran’s subway system operates 1,514 train wagons, of which about 450 are dilapidated and in dire need of repairs.
As per the latest measure taken to address the issue, Tehran Municipality has signed a contract with Tehran Wagon Manufacturing Company for the production of 106 subway cars and work will start as soon as an initial payment is made to the company.
According to the officials, TWMC is waiting for Tehran City Council to deliver a portion of the contract price, which will most likely be funded from the sale of participation bonds.
The mayor noted that the government has promised to finance the purchase of 1,050 wagons shortly.
“Based on these talks, 630 wagons will be supplied by foreign companies and 420 will be ordered from domestic producers,” he said.
“The foreign purchase plan dates back to early 2018 when a Chinese rail company and Tehran Wagon Manufacturing Company won the tender to build and supply 630 cars to Tehran's subway.”
Zakani, however, blamed mismanagement and financial issues for the lack of progress in this regard.
The government is committed to supplying 2,000 train cars for Tehran Metro during the Sixth Five-Year Development Plan (2017-22).
Difficulties
Subway expansion plans and the addition of new wagons are being discussed by urban managers, while Tehran Metro Company is in the red, owing the local banking system 370 trillion rials ($1.32 billion), while still needing funds to overhaul wagons and complete unfinished lines.
According to Mojtaba Shafiei, the deputy head of the Transportation and Traffic Department at Tehran Municipality, Tehran Metro’s bad debts, which have built up from years of financial crisis, make it difficult for receiving more loans.
Shafiei said the subway network is one of the most prominent means of providing urban mobility services to the public.
“The company’s debt accumulation to the banks can seriously disrupt its operations,” he added.
The official elaborated on fiscal deficit in the way of subway development and said the completion of under-construction subway lines requires an estimated 350 trillion rials ($1.26 billion).
Shafiei noted that the expansion of Line 1 to Eslamshahr and Parand, satellite cities in the southwest of the capital, requires another 360 trillion rials ($1.29 billion) while the newly-designed lines 8-11 would require 2.01 quadrillion rials ($7.25 billion).
The new lines have been designed to cover the districts bypassed by the current subway network, mostly the western part of the capital.
Stretching over 253 kilometers across the capital, Tehran Metro currently constitutes seven lines, with lines 6 and 7 still under construction.
