Providing people with decent public transportation services is of high importance for cities worldwide and there is much room for improvement in Iran.
The initiatives of urban managers of metropolises like Isfahan and Karaj for expanding their subway networks have recently gained momentum.
The construction of tunnels for Line 2 of Isfahan’s subway network will be completed within two years.
Alireza Salavati, the managing director of Transportation and Traffic Organization of Isfahan Municipality, told Tasnim News Agency, “The construction of Isfahan Metro’s Line 1 took 15 years. However, the expansion project has been streamlined and will be completed by 2021.”
Isfahan’s Line 2 consists of 22 stations, stretches 24.4 kilometers from Khomeini-Shahr in the west to Zeinabiyeh Street in the northeast.
Isfahan's subway map includes a total of three lines (1, 2 and 3), of which only one is currently operational.
The 20-kilometer Line 1 links the north to the south of the city with 20 stations. With a multi-phase construction process, the line became fully operational in 2017.
Imam Hossein and Azadi stations on the line respectively intersect with Line 2 and 3, which are still under construction.
Line 3, which is the shortest, covers the southwestern part of the city, with seven stations along an 8.8-kilometer tunnel.
Adding to the good news about the urban metro development, Alireza Fatehi, the head of Isfahan Metro Company, told IRIB News that municipal bodies are planning to add 32 new railcars (makes four complete trains) to the operating Line 1 by the end of the current fiscal year (March 2020).
"The addition of new trains will curb the headway time between trains. Currently, there are 12 trains operating in Line 1 with an 11-minute headway."
According to Isfahan Metro Company, the operating line moves 70,000 passengers daily and the figure is expected to reach 100,000 by the beginning of the school year in September.
Hashtgerd Linkup
The other achievement is that the western flank of Tehran Metro’s Line 5, which presently ends at Karaj, the provincial center of Alborz, will connect to Hashtgerd New Town.
According to Deputy Roads Minister Habibollah Taherkhani, over 90% of Karaj-Hashtgerd line have been constructed and trials will be conducted in the near future.
He told reporters that power and signaling systems are yet to be connected and fences and other equipments will soon be installed along the new extension.
"By the end of summer [Sept. 22], Tehran Urban and Suburban Railway Company will conduct tests on the line and address any deficiency, making the line ready for launch," he said.
The construction of Hashtgerd Station was started in July 2018 by Hashtgerd New Town Construction Company.
Line 5 was partly launched in 1998, stretching from Karaj to Sadeqiyeh in Tehran. Since then, the line was gradually extended to Golshahr. Line 5 is currently 41 kilometers long with 11 stations.
Currently, the capital's subway stretches over 220 kilometers and comprises seven lines (1 to 7) with nearly 120 stations. Line 6 and 7 are yet to become fully operational.
In addition, Iranian engineering group Gueno has partnered with a French engineering and consulting group recently to design four additional lines (8 to 11).
The special feature of the newly-designed lines is that they will link areas not covered by the metro network. The operating subway lines move through diagonal paths, connecting north to south and west to east of the city, all crossing the central parts.
