The subway project of Tabriz, the provincial center of East Azarbaijan, has received 7 trillion rials ($25.4 million) in new funding in the current Iranian year (started March 21), as the government is trying to ramp up infrastructure spending for public railroads.
During a visit to the subway construction site on Thursday, Fereydoun Babaei, a member of Tabriz City Council, stated that the budget will be spent on completing Line 1, the Persian economic daily Donya-e-Eqtesad reported.
“In the western part of Line 1, the construction of three stations, namely Laleh Junction, Gazran and Qonqa, has progressed by around 80%. Only 30% of construction were completed in 2018-19, demonstrating that the city's subway workforce has made selfless efforts over the past few years,” he said.
Babaei noted that the new budget allocation will help expedite construction and provide citizens with greater subway access in the near future.
In light of the fact that Tabriz has become one of Iran's populated and polluted metropolises, the councilor hoped that the efforts of the government and urban managers to develop an underground commuter train system will help address the challenges facing citizens concerning their daily commute.
Since the launch of the first metro line about 14 years ago in Tabriz, its current expansion will ease people’s access from the southeast to the west of the city.
Its urban managers had announced that the unfinished subway Line 1 of Tabriz Metro would become fully operational in April 2021, but work continued well past the deadline.
According to municipal bodies, Line 1 starts from El Goli Square in southeast Tabriz, travels 17.2 kilometers to the west with 18 stations and reaches Laleh Street, a historical neighborhood in the city’s southwest.
The line’s construction was designed in three phases. The first phase became operational with four stations in September 2015, connecting El Goli Square in the southeast to Shahriar Station in the east. A total of 2.5 trillion rials ($9 million) were invested in the project's Phase 1.
The second phase came on stream in February 2016, extending the line to Sa'at Square Station in the city center.
Of the seven stations along the western flank of Line 3, four stations came on stream in February 2020.
Previous Money Injection
In March, urban officials in Tabriz had announced that the government has allocated 100 trillion rials ($363.6 million) to subway development.
Mohammad Reza Pourmohammadi, the governor general of East Azarbaijan, noted that the budget will be spent on Line 2 expansion.
“The construction of Line 2 will be conducted in a phased manner and the approved funds will only be spent on the first phase, which includes the first 10 kilometers starting from Qaramalik. Besides propelling the construction, the budget can benefit companies directly and indirectly involved in the project,” he said.
“The dynamism of Tabriz depends, to a large extent, on the operation of a clean mode of transportation like metro. We hope that the government support will boost public mobility in the metropolis.”
Tabriz officials reached an agreement with the Plan and Budget Organization in September 2019 to receive 2 trillion rials ($7.2 million) for starting the construction of Line 2 in 2020.
This was in addition to the allocation of 1 trillion rials ($3.6 million) for the project agreed by the government. However, due to management issues, the project has so far made little progress.
Tabriz Metro Map
With five lines, including one intercity and four urban lines, Tabriz Metro is to stretch over 100 kilometers throughout the city with 70 stations.
Starting from the west in Qaramalik Neighborhood, Line 2 is to reach an exhibition center in the east of Tabriz after crossing 22.4 kilometers and 20 stations.
Line 3, which will extend 15 kilometers from Tabriz International Airport in the northwest to Tabriz Central Bus Terminal in the south, will have 14 stations.
And finally, the last metro line, Line 4, is to be a 15.4-kilometer link between Azarbaijan Square in northwest and Pasdaran Highway in northeast with 18 stations.
The intercity tramway’s Line 5 will connect the southwestern tail of Line 1 to Sahand City in Osku County. The line will be about 30 kilometers long, running toward its destination with no stations along the way.
Next Step
Planning for the next phase of Tabriz Metro’s network, urban managers reached an agreement with the Plan and Budget Organization last year to receive 2 trillion rials ($7.2 million) for starting the construction of Line 2.
This is in addition to the allocation of 1 trillion rials ($7.4 million) for the project agreed to by the government.
Similar to Line 1, the construction of Line 2 will be conducted in a phased manner, but the approved budget funds will only be spent on the first phase, covering the first 10 kilometers starting from Qaramalik Neighborhood.
Davoud Behboudi, the head of provincial Plan and Budget Organization, had earlier said that under normal circumstances, the construction of each kilometer of a subway line, including the installation of technical and security equipment, costs about 4 trillion rials ($14.5 million).
Therefore, the expansion of subway construction in the city will only happen [at this rate], if the budget is allocated soon, he added.
Subway construction costs vary in different countries, depending on land value, construction costs and equipment prices.
For instance, the completion of Madrid’s Metrosur Line, which is 41 km long and has 28 stations, took four years and cost $58 million per km.
Singapore’s Circle Line runs 35 kilometers with 28 stations and cost $4.8 billion, or $130 million per kilometer.
