The development of subway networks has been touted as a priority by the urban managers of Iranian megacities. However, expansion plans are crawling in Karaj and Qom.
Unlike the capital city of Tehran—with a population of 9 million—which is advancing its subway expansion plans with greater speed and efficiency, other major cities are lagging far behind. This is mainly because of lack of funds.
The subway network in the capital, which currently handles over 14 million trips daily, comprises seven lines (Lines 1 to 7). This figure will see a jump with the unfinished lines 6 and 7 becoming fully operational. The city’s metro tunnels stretch over 220 kilometers with 120 stations.
Work is rapidly continuing to complete the construction of the capital's metro network. An additional four lines have been designed to link the spots in the city, missed by the seven lines, to the network.
Mixed Signals From Karaj
Projects in Alborz and Qom provinces, however, have progressed at a lackadaisical pace. Experts blame the slow progress on poor management of projects and resources, which can be also seen in the metro projects of other cities.
The subway project in Alborz Province, neighboring the capital, has shown little progress.
This is while Ali Kamalizadeh, the mayor of Karaj—the provincial center of Alborz, sounded optimistic about the subway project’s completion, claiming that "the construction of tunnels is advancing rapidly".
In late August, he told Iran’s Metropolitan News Agency that Line 2 of the subway will be partially launched in two years, if adequate funds are injected.
Rahim Khastoo, the vice chairman of Karaj City Council, told Mehr News Agency on Sunday, "The budget allocated to the project is ten times less than that of the subway project in Tehran and that is why the work is not proceeding well."
Karaj’s subway project was launched in 2006. A 102-km network of five lines, which will be connected to the Tehran-Karaj subway, has been planned.
The project is funded through several sources, including revenues from Karaj Municipality, government budget and sale of bonds.
Mohammad Rostami, the project’s executive manager, said since 2007, close to 5 billion rials ($43,470) have been spent monthly on the project—700 billion rials ($6 million) so far.
However, only 15 kilometers of the tunnels have been dug and the project has made little progress over the past 13 years, more because of a lack of will among urban officials than inadequate funding.
Qom Still Waiting
Qom’s metro project was launched almost a decade ago, but the project has not progressed as planned.
The network includes two lines (1 and 2) stretched over 14 kilometers in the city. Less than one-third of the project has been completed.
According to Qom Mayor Seyyed Morteza Saqqaian-Nejad, 5 kilometers of the mapped subway network will be launched by the end of the next Iranian year (March 2021), Borna News reported.
Provincial officials say accelerating the construction of subway is essential for the shrine city, as the increasing urban development, aging public transportation fleet and substandard vehicles plying the streets are worsening its air pollution.
Developing clean means of public transportation is crucial to curb traffic congestion and air pollution—common problems facing all growing metropolises.
An efficient subway transport seems to be far off for other Iranian big cities, in view of low funding, mismanagement and poor accountability.
