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.
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 During the Qajar era in the late 19th century, an extensive tram network was constructed in Tehran, the Iranian capital's first attempt at a public transit system. However, the tram network was decommissioned during the reign of Reza Shah in the 1930s, without an immediate replacement. This mirrored global trends at the time, to shift attention away from collective public transit systems towards individualist car dependency.
In the 1960s, debate about a need for a public transport system in the city rose to prominence again, with the city's leading newspaper Ayandegan stating in an editorial that “Tehran has no strength left and resembles a patient on the verge of death… Within ten years, Tehran will not be able to function without a metro". As a response to this renewed public demand, government plans for the metro system in Tehran were drawn up in the 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.
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.
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
List
Line Opening Length Stations Type 2001 32 Metro and Commuter rail 2000 22 Metro 2012 25 Metro 2008 23 Metro 1999 13 Commuter rail 2019 26 Metro 2017 22 Metro Metro Subtotal: Total: 163 Metro and Commuter rail
Line 1
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 along this line of which 22 stations are located underground and 10 above ground. , the total capacity of line 1 is 650,000 passenger per day, with trains stopping at each station for 20 seconds. The trains are each made up of seven wagons, with a nominal capacity of 1,300 seated and standing passengers. The maximum speed of the trains is which is tempered to an average of due to stoppages at stations along the route.
Line 1 runs mostly north–south. A , three station extension of the line from Mirdamad station to Qolhak station opened on 20 May 2009. The , four stations second phase of this extension from Qolhak station to Tajrish Square was completed in 2011. Construction was to be completed by March 2007 but faced major issues due to large boulders and rock bed in part of the tunnels as well as water drainage issues. It has also faced major financing issues as the government has refused to release funds earmarked for the project to the municipality.
Since August 2017, one of Line 1's stations, Darvazeh Dowlat is open 24 hours a day, in order to accommodate passengers travelling to and from Imam Khomeini Airport via Line 1.
Line 1 connects Tehran to Imam Khomeini International Airport. Its first phase, to Shahr-e-Aftab station, opened in 2016, and the airport station opened in August 2017. It is the only metro line in Tehran that is completely open 24 hours a day (even if the frequency is only 80 minutes), in order to accommodate passengers from late night and early morning flights (Line 1's Darvazeh Dowlat station is the only other metro station outside of Line 1 with that classification). 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
This line opened between Sadeghieh and Imam Khomeini in February 2000. Line 2 is long, with underground and elevated. There are 22 stations along the line, of which Imam Khomeini Station was shared by Line 1. Line 2 is coloured blue on system maps and runs mostly east–west through the city.
The line was extended from Imam-Khomeini to Baharestan Metro Station in 2004, and to Shahid Madani, Sarsabz and Elm-o-Sanat University in March 2006 with the intermediate stations, Darvazeh Shemiran and Sabalan, opening in July 2006. It was extended further from Elm-o-Sanat University to Tehran Pars in February 2009, and to Farhangsara in June 2010. The extension phase to new east terminal is under construction.
Line 3
Line 3 travels from northeast to southwest. Line 3 is one of the most important lines as it connects southwest Tehran to northeast, crosses busy parts of the capital city, and can help to alleviate traffic problems. 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 22 September 2015, increasing the length of the line to a total of , and serving 25 stations .
Line 4
The line is long with 23 stations. which connects the western part of Tehran to eastern part. This line initially runs through Ekbatan (western Tehran) to Kolahdooz (eastern Tehran). The construction of a western extension to line 4 has been started in 2012 connecting Ekbatan to Chaharbagh Sq. This extension will include 3 stations. A sub-line of this line connects Bimeh station to Mehrabad Airport. This sub-line has 3 stations at Bimeh, Terminal 1&2 and Terminal 4&6.
Section 1, from Ferdowsi Square to Darvazeh Shemiran, opened in April 2008. Section 2 from Darvazeh shemiran to Shohada Square opened in February 2009. On 24 May 2009, Section 3 from Ferdowsi Square to Enghelab Square opened. On 23 July 2012, two more stations were inaugurated, connecting line 4 with line 5.
Currently there are 23 stations in operation on Line 4, coloured yellow on the system maps.
Line 5
Line 5 is coloured green on system maps; it is a commuter rail line and has 13 stations. Entering the area of Karaj with main stations at Karaj and Golshahr and Hashtgerd. It connects with the western end of Line 2 at Tehran (Sadeghiyeh) station, and with the western end of Line 4 at Eram-e Sabz Metro Station.
Line 6
Line 6 is pink coloured on system maps. An initial section between Shohada Square to Dowlat Abad opened on 7 April 2019. This line is long with 26 stations right now. When completed, this line will be long with 32 stations, connecting southeast Tehran to northwest. A tunnel boring machine (TBM) is used to construct the tunnel. TBM is using earth pressure balanced method to pass safely through urban areas without considerable settlement.