Two subway stations in Line 6 and 7 of Tehran Metro were inaugurated on Thursday to speed up the development of traffic-free, green means of transportation.
The stations were inaugurated by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani via videoconference. Tehran Mayor Pirouz Hanachi, Tehran City Council Chairman Mohsen Hashemi and Ali Emam, the head of Tehran Metro Company, were present at the site, Tasnim News Agency reported.
Modafe’an-e Salamat (meaning protectors of health) Station, formerly named Baqerkhan, in Line 7, sits near Sattarkhan and Baqerkhan streets in the west of the capital.
In view of the huge traffic problem in the area, the station is expected to help ease the problem.
According to urban officials, the station has been renamed in tribute to the selfless efforts of medical staff during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 27-km line, which connects the northwestern to the southeastern parts of Tehran, will have 25 stations after completion. Currently, 12 stations are operating along the line.
The other station coming on stream is called Shahrak-e Azmayesh in the western flank of Line 6. The station is located near the namesake neighborhood in western Tehran for easing the residents’ access to the subway.
When fully constructed, Line 6 will stretch over 38 km and have 27 stations. It will be the longest line in the subway network and connect Shahr-e Rey in southeast Tehran to the famed Sulqan rural district in the northwest.
After more phases come on stream, the line will expand to Shah Abdol-Azim Shrine in the ancient district of Rey in southern Tehran.
Line 7 Agenda
Urban managers have placed the completion of line 7 on the agenda for the current Iranian year (ends March 2022).
According to Emam, the construction of 5 kilometers of the northwestern flank of Line 7, connecting two stations: Islamic Azad University Science and Research Branch and North Jannatabad, and a subway terminal in the far north will start soon.
The subway terminal will help reduce the headway, ease parking problems and help renovate the wagons.
Line 7 was partially opened in June 2017 by Tehran's former mayor, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, during his 2017 presidential election campaign.
The line’s premature launch was strongly criticized by public transport experts and urban planners, because it disregarded safety rules and protocols.
Tehran Mayor Pirouz Hanachi now says all safety standards have been observed.
Tehran Metro’s Report Sheet
Some officials say these two stations are the last inaugurated before the presidential tenure of Hassan Rouhani ends in a couple of months.
However, according to Tehran Metro Company, six additional stations will be opened until September, bringing the total number of stations opened to 34 since 2016. This equates to an average of eight stations per year.
Aside from these projects, Tehran Metro has completed 40 kilometers of subway tunnels, built 14 new station entrances and five power stations, installed 62 elevators, 280 escalators and 78 ventilation systems, and added 133 subway cars to the network.
The firm also states that three sources have contributed 67 trillion rials ($279 million) to Tehran Metro’s construction since November 2017. The first is the government's budget allocation, which totals 2.46 trillion rials ($10.25 million).
Tehran Municipality, which has invested 43.8 trillion rials ($182.5 million) in the corporation over the last four years, is the company's next financial source.
According to the report, just 33.6 trillion rials ($140 million) of the authorized funds were spent on the subway project, with the rest being used to cover the company's debts and other expenses.
The issuance of participatory bonds has also brought in 20.8 trillion rials ($86.66 million) for Tehran’s subway.
The harsh US sanctions against Iran, which have been in place since the summer of 2018, and the growing prices of imported goods should be considered when comparing achievements and budget expenditures.
Fiscal Deficit
Officials are planning new subway development projects, according to the head of Tehran City Council’s Transportation Commission, but Tehran’s subway network needs 2 quadrillion rials ($8.33 billion) for the construction of incomplete lines, purchase of train cars and standardization of equipment.
Mohammad Alikhani added that due to the negative effects of US sanctions reimposed in 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, the rial has lost 70% of its value against the greenback over the past year.
On Saturday, the US dollar was traded at 240,000 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 its price has reached 200 billion rials, which Tehran Municipality cannot afford,” Alikhani said.
Speaking to reporters, Mohsen Hashemi, the head of TCC, expressed disquiet over Tehran subway’s shortfalls.
“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,” he added.
Hashemi noted that for each kilometer of the subway, there was 1.1 train wagons.
“Today, the figure has fallen by 30%, which means that for each kilometer of the operating subway line, there are 0.8 train cars,” he said.
Hence, Tehran Metro’s managers need to address the shortfalls at the earliest to help people observe the health protocols for combating Covid-19.
