Tehran Metro - WikiHQ

Tehran Metro () is a rapid transit system serving Tehran, the capital of Iran. It is the largest metro system in the Middle East. The system is owned and operated by Tehran Urban and Suburban Railway. It consists of six operational metro lines (and an additional commuter rail line), with construction under way on seven lines including northwestern extension of line 4, southeastern extension line 6, northwestern extension line 7, east extension line 2 and Line 10, Line 8, Line 9 and 11.

The Tehran Metro carries more than 3 million passengers a day. In 2018, 820 million trips were made on Tehran Metro. , the total system is long. It is planned to have a length of with 330 stations in eleven lines once all construction is complete by 2040.

On all days of the week, the Metro service runs from 05:30 to 22:00.

thumb|Women-only section

The line uses standard gauge and is mostly underground. Ticket price is 5,300 Iranian Toman for each journey (about US$0.05), regardless of the distance travelled, but using prepaid tickets costs much less. Seniors may travel for free on the metro. On all Tehran metro trains the first and half of the second carriages from each end are reserved for women. Women can still ride other cars freely.

History

Initial plans for the metro system were laid in late 1960s but could not be executed until 1982 because of socio-political issues such as the Iranian Revolution and the Iran–Iraq War. In 1970, the Plan and Budget Organisation and the Municipality of Tehran announced an international tender for construction of a metro in Tehran. The French company SOFRETU, affiliated with the state-owned Paris transportation authority RATP, won the tender and in the same year began to conduct preliminary studies on the project. In 1974, a final report with a so-called "street-metro" proposal was tendered. The street-metro system recommended a road network with a loop express way in the central area and two highways for new urban areas and an 8-line metro network which were complemented by bus network and taxi services. Geological surveys commenced in 1976. In 1978, construction on the line was started in northern Tehran by the French company, however this development was short-lived with the advent of the Iranian Revolution and the Iran–Iraq War in 1979 and 1980 respectively. SOFRETU ceased operations in Iran in December 1980. On 3 March 1982, the Iranian Cabinet ministers formally announced the stop of Tehran Metro operations by the French company.

thumb|[[Changchun Railway Vehicles|CRV Type DKZ3 Cars in the Tehran Metro|alt=|right]]

In 1985, the "Tehran Metro Execution Plan" was re-approved by the Majles, the Iranian Parliament, on the basis of legal project of "Amendment of Law of Establishment of Tehran Urban and suburban Railway Company" which had been founded in Farvardin 1364 (April 1985). This was a literal continuation of exactly the same project that had been laid out before the revolution. Work proceeded slowly because of the continuing Iran–Iraq War and often ground to a halt. By the summer of 1985, urban pressure from the rapidly urbanising population, and lack of developed public transport system prompted the work to be resumed in earnest. "Line 1" (From Blvd. Shahid Ayatollah Haghani to Rey) and its extension to Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery was made a priority. "Line 2" (From Dardasht in Tehran Pars district to Sadeghiyeh Second Square) and an extending towards Karaj and Mehrshahr district was also made a secondary priority. Studies were also made to establish the previously designed Lines 3 & 4. It was decided that an organisation by the name of the Metro Company should be established in order to handle the future development of the system.

The Metro Company then became managed by Asghar Ebrahimi Asl for eleven years. During that time, hundreds of millions of dollars were spent on the system and the Metro Company was given government concessions for the exploitation of iron ore mines in Bandar Abbas (Hormuzgan Province), exploitation and sale of Moghan Diotomite mine in Iranian Azarbaijan, export of refinery residues from Isfahan oil refinery as well as tar from Isfahan steel mill. The year after Asghar Ebrahimi Asl left the management of the Metro Company and Mohsen Hashemi succeeded him, the first line of the Tehran Metro was launched between Tehran and Karaj.

On 7 March 1999, an overland Tehran-Karaj express electric train started a limited service of between Azadi Square (Tehran) and Malard (Karaj) that called at one intermediate station at Vardavard.

Line 5 of the Tehran metro began operating in 1999. Iran's first metro system, the line was constructed by the Chinese company NORINCO.

thumb|[[Golshahr Metro Station|Golshahr (Line 5) commuter rail station]]

From 2000 onwards, commercial operation began on Lines 1 and 2. The wagons on these lines are provided by CRV via CNTIC. The railway tracks and points on these lines are provided by the Austrian company Voestalpine.

The Metro uses equipment manufactured by a wide range of international companies: double-deck passenger cars for the Tehran-Karaj regional line are supplied by CRV some trains are from SEGC via CNTIC and assembled by the Wagon Pars factory in Arak.

, approximately $2 billion had been spent on the Metro project. The Tehran Metro transports about 2.5 million passengers daily through its 7 operational lines (Lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7). It also has additional one line under construction (Line 10), and an additional two lines in engineering phase (8 and 9). New 80 wagons have been added to the system in September 2012 to ease transportation and reduce rush-hour congestion. Iran is able to produce its need in wagons and trains independently.

A branch line of Line 4 began running to Mehrabad International Airport on 15 March 2016. A express line to Imam Khomeini International Airport was opened in August 2017.

Amidst the COVID-19 cases increasing in Iran, Tehran Metro made wearing masks a requirement to enter the metro network at any station. Law enforcement located in every station were ordered to prevent passengers from entering without masks and such passengers would be led to purchase masks from mask selling desks located at every metro station.

Lines

center|thumb|750x750px|Map of Tehran Metro

List

{| class="wikitable"

! Line

! Opening

! Length

! Stations

! Type

| style="text-align:center; color:#FFFFFF; background-color:#" | Tehran Metro Line 1|

| style="text-align:center" | 2001

| style="text-align:center" | 32

| Metro and Commuter rail

| style="text-align:center; color:#FFFFFF; background-color:#" | Tehran Metro Line 2|

| style="text-align:center" | 2000

| style="text-align:center" | 22

| style="text-align:center" | 25

| style="text-align:center" | 23

| style="text-align:center" | 13

| Commuter rail

| style="text-align:center; color:#FFFFFF; background-color:#" | Tehran Metro Line 6|

| style="text-align:center" | 2019

| style="text-align:center" | 26

| Metro

| style="text-align:center; color:#FFFFFF; background-color:#" | Tehran Metro Line 7|

| style="text-align:center" | 2017

| style="text-align:center" | 22

| Metro

| colspan=2 style="text-align:center" | Metro Subtotal:

| colspan=2 style="text-align:center" | Total:

| style="text-align:center" | 163

| Metro and Commuter rail

Line 1

150px|right

Line 1, coloured red on system maps, is long, of which are underground (from Tajrish station to Shoush-Khayyam crossing) and the rest runs at surface level. There are 32 stations A third phase, completed in 2023, extended Line 1 to the satellite city of Parand and brought the total length of the line to . Its per hour speeds classify it as an express subway line, the first of its kind on the Tehran Metro.

Line 2

150px|right

This line opened between Sadeghieh and Imam Khomeini in February 2000. Line 2 is long, About of Line 3 became operational in December 2012, followed by in April 2014, and finally, the last section of the line which is opened on September 22, 2015, increasing the length of the line to a total of ,

Currently there are 23 stations in operation on Line 4, coloured yellow on the system maps.

Line 5

right|150px

Line 5 is coloured green on system maps; it is a This line is long with 26 stations right now. When completed, this line will be long with 32 stations, connecting southeast Tehran to northwest. This line has with 22 stations right now.

Future plans

There are several plans to expand Tehran's metro network to over in total. Some plans only concern additional inserted stations, like Vavan on line 1 in the South. Some extensions and completely new lines are under construction, some extensions or new lines are proposals in the moment.

{| class="wikitable"

! Line

! Status

! Type

| style="text-align:center; color:#FFFFFF; background-color:#" | Tehran Metro Line 3|