As per an agreement signed Tuesday between Tehran Municipality, Beijing Rail Transit Technology Equipment Group Co. (RTTE) and local Pars Wagon company in Markazi Province, 367 subway cars will be added to the capital’s metro network.
The cars are to be delivered by 2022 and each wagon will cost $976,000, metro.tehran.ir reported.
Production will commence as soon as funding for imports of required parts is available. The project is estimated to cost $366.9 million.
Subway car prices vary around the world. For instance, each New York City subway wagon, built by Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries, was purchased in 2006 at an average cost of $2 million.
The cars are for Line 7 that is now under construction, managing director of Tehran Municipality Transportation and Traffic Organization Mohsen Pour Seyed Aqaei said.
“Almost 30% of the parts used in the wagons will be made locally and this share will increase over time,” he added.
Tehran Mayor Pirouz Hanachi says, “At least 2,000 new cars are needed for improving services offered through the capital’s subway network.”
Initially, the headway between two trains on Line 7 will be about 10 minutes. Hanachi says, “We intend to cut waiting time to four minutes.”
The time interval between trains is not the same at all subway junctions in Tehran. While the minimum waiting period on Line 1 (Kahrizak-Tajrish) is about two minutes, it is longer for Line 3 (more than 10 minutes). On holidays people wait for more than 15 minutes for a train on Line 3.
The Interior Ministry is also working to supply 600 cars for subway network, the mayor has been quoted as saying. He did not elaborate.
Line 7 Saga
Construction of Line 7 has been an unending saga since its partial opening in June 2017. The 27km line, which connects the northwest to the southeast parts of the capital, is designed to cover 25 stations. Tehran Municipality had estimated that it would be built with 60 trillion rials ($545 million), about 2.2 trillion rials ($20m) per kilometer.
The line was scheduled for launch in 2015, but after three years and billions in costs and overheads, thanks to negligence and poor management of past TM managers and contractors, only seven stations have been built so far.
Former mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and his minions have often been accused by public transport experts and independent urban planners of rushing to open the line with little regard to safety protocols and acceptable international standards.
Qalibaf was mayor for 12 years up until the summer of 2017 and is seen as one of the controversial figures on the political landscape who thrice tried and failed in his presidential bid. Appalling reports have emerged on a regular basis about the systemic corruption in the municipality under his watch.
Tehran Mayor Pirouz Hanachi has said at least 2,000 cars are needed for improving services offered through the capital’s subway network
Political observers say Qalibaf and his managers rushed to launch the long-delayed Line 7 before the presidential elections in mid-2017 to muster votes for the beleaguered mayor who eventually dropped out of the race less than a week before the elections.
Qalibaf’s successor Mohammad Ali Najafi ordered the line closed in November 2017 due to rising concerns over safety regulations, corruption, and dodgy contracts.
It is often reported that the post-Qalibaf municipality is sinking in red ink and that its coffers are empty. However, work is underway to wrap up the long-delayed and costly line by whatever means, including beg, borrow and steal the extra money.
Besides Line 7, Tehran subway has six main lines with 100 stations.
Public Transportation
Efficient public transportation has always been crucial for curbing traffic and air pollution. Hanachi says “Expanding the subway is key to easing the two main problems and safeguarding the people’s wellbeing.”
Traffic in Tehran and its surrounding cities have become a nuisance and at times agonizing for the residents, particularly during rush hours. The growing population, poor public transport and use of private vehicles on a large scale have created conditions not many can bear.
The pollution becomes worse in winter when thick smog descends on the suffocating capital and making living, working and commute more difficult.
However, it gives some relief to see that subway commute has increased significantly in recent years and now four million people use trains every day. Tehran Municipality expects the number to climb by a massive 25% after lines 6 and 7 are up and running.
But this is definitely not enough for Tehran, in which, according to statistics, over 15 million people commute every day, many from the surrounding cities and towns.
Mayor Hanachi has reaffirmed his commitment to development and expansion of public transportation network in and around Tehran.
He is of the opinion that in metropolises like Tehran at least 50% of the daily commute should be conducted via the subway. “The number of people using the subway for commute will reach 7 million.”
