100 New Buses to Join Capital’s Transport Fleet

Peiman Sanandaji, the head of Tehran Bus Company, said based on a recent deal signed between TBC and a local vehicle manufacturing company Setareh Nik Aria, 100 new two-cabin buses will be added to Tehran’s bus fleet by late September, ISNA reported.

Although the measure will give a boost to the capital’s public transportation network, many have argued that it is inadequate.

Official data show that 6,000 buses are currently operating in Tehran, half of which has outlived usefulness and is fit for the scrap yard, according to Financial Tribune.

Sanandaji said 500 more new buses will join the transport fleet by the end of the current fiscal year (March 19, 2020). 

"In addition, the restoration of 500 buses, which are currently over 10 years of age, is high on the agenda for the current year," he added.   

In early August, Tehran Mayor Pirouz Hanachi told reporters that along with extensive efforts to restore the city’s aging bus fleet, 100 trillion rials ($847 million) of participatory bonds will be issued to expedite the repairs underway and even add new buses to the network.

According to TBC, the city needs at least 10,000 buses to deliver decent transportation services to citizens.

Subway Development 

To further ease road traffic and expand the city’s public transportation, the eastern flank of Tehran subway’s Line 7 was successfully tested late last week to ensure its smooth operation after its official inauguration.

According to Ali Emam, CEO of Tehran Urban and Suburban Railway Company, signaling, air-conditioning and power supply were among factors tested along 8.5 kilometers of the line connecting Basij to Mahdiyeh stations, ISNA reported.

"The test was a simulation of real situation, during which a train moved along 8.5 kilometers of the railroad to see if everything works well," he added.

Emam said work on the eastern flank is being finalized and the two stations of Basij and Mahdiyeh will be launched soon.

The 27-km Line 7, which connects the northwest to southeastern parts of Tehran, will have 25 stations. 

As the western flank of the line is partially operational, the launch of the eastern section of Line 7 will connect southeast to the northwest of the capital.

Emam said that by March 2020, six more stations on Line 7 will become operational.

The first three stations of the line were launched in March. With a 15-minute headway between trains, commuters can now take the subway from Helal Ahmar Station in downtown Tehran to Tarbiat Modares Station near Chamran and Jalal Al-e-Ahmad expressway junction, to Sanat Square in northwest Tehran.

Line 7 was partially opened in June 2017 by Tehran's former mayor, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, during his 2017 presidential election campaign. His premature measure was strongly criticized by public transport experts and urban planners because it disregarded safety rules and protocols.

Mayor Hanachi now says all safety standards have been taken into consideration.

Tehran’s subway network stretches over 220 kilometers and comprises seven lines (1 to 7) with nearly 120 stations. Line 6 and 7 are under construction.