How to Ride Shiraz Metro

Visiting Shiraz, the gateway to the world famous Persepolis, and capital of Fars Province in southwest Iran, which is home to unique historical heritage, travelers can take the subway for easy commute.
From Shahid Dastgheib Shiraz International Airport, visitors can take the tube to get to the city center and the northwestern parts of the ancient city.
Shiraz Metro offers services between 7 am and 9 pm. On Friday services are available between 7 in the morning and 3 pm. The trains’ headway is 15 minutes.
Planners have designed six lines for the Fars provincial capital to cover 90 kilometers. After Line 1 opened in 2014, an estimated 8 million commuters have used the trains on a yearly basis. The line stretches over 24.5 km with 20 stations.
Shiraz is home to the famous Persepolis ruins 60km to the northeast of the city. The earliest remains of Persepolis date back to 515 BCE. It exemplifies the Achaemenid style of architecture. 
UNESCO declared the ruins of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979.  Millions of Iranians and foreign tourists come every year to see the amazing sites.

 
Construction of Line 1 started in 2001, and its first phase became operational in late 2014. 
The 20km Line 2 is under construction. It will have 20 stations and intersect with Line 1 at Imam Hossein Square. The line will connect the Mian Rood area, south of the city to the Tomb of Saadi (mausoleum of the celebrated Persian poet Saadi) on the northern flank of Shiraz.
Plans for construction of the seven-station, 10km Line 3 are under review. This line will connect Shiraz Railway Station in the city center. Designing and mapping of routes for lines 4, 5 and 6 will start soon.

Development Plans

Shiraz Mayor Heydar Eskandarpour told ISNA, “Development of the subway in Shiraz is part of the municipality’s agenda to help make life easier for the residents.”
Due to mismanagement and lack of funds construction of Line 1 took 18 years. “Hopefully Line 2 will be constructed faster,” the mayor said.

He says “If bonds are issued for financing Line 2, the project would be operational in three years.”
For constructing Line 1, he recalled, participatory bonds worth 7 trillion rials ($52 million) were issued. “With support from the Central Bank of Iran, Shiraz Municipality plans to issue investment bonds to the tune of 6 trillion rials ($44 million) for constructing Line 2.”
Talks are underway between Shiraz Municipality and private companies over the construction of Line 3 of the metro.
“The municipality does not have enough money to finance the project on its own. Therefore, within the legal framework, we are looking for private partners to invest in the project.”

Investment Agreement

An agreement was signed between Shiraz Municipality and Shahr Atieh Investment Company affiliated to Shahr Bank (City Bank), as per which the former will invest 13.5 trillion rials ($100 million) in building Line 2.
On the investment firm’s website, the total construction cost is estimated at $500 million. Close to $250 million is required for constructing the tunnel ($12.5 million per kilometer) and the rest for buying the trains and other equipment.
Earlier reports said Line 6 of Tehran Metro is estimated to cost $464 million, or $15 million per kilometer.
Subway construction costs vary in different countries depending on land value, raw material and labor costs. For instance, Madrid’s Metrosur line is 41 km long, with 28 stations, and was completed in four years for $58 million/km. Singapore’s Circle Line runs 35km with 28 stations and cost $4.8 billion, or $130 million/km.