Tehran Municipality announced that in collaboration with a French engineering and consulting group and the Iranian engineering group Gueno, four additional lines have been mapped for Tehran Subway.
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. The operating lines move through diagonal paths, connecting north to south and west to east of the city, all crossing the central parts.
TM says the new lines (8 to 11) have been designed to cover the areas not covered by the metro network so far, according to Financial Tribune.
The C-shape Line 8 is to stretch over 37 kilometers starting from the southeast, turning around the city center as a curve and turning back to the northeast of the city with a total of 35 stations.
When constructed, Line 9 will be 46 km long with 39 stations. The line will cover a larger area starting from the west at Line 5's Chitgar Station. It then travels up north and goes toward the east to reach Imam Ali Highway. The line continues southward and ends at Dolatabad Station on Line 6.
The third line, Line 10 is the uppermost path, starting from Vardavard Station on Tehran-Karaj Line 5. It travels 41 kilometers across the northern part of the city with 34 stations, reaching northeast to Qanat-e Kosar.
Finally, Line 11, which is comparatively short, will stretch over 26 kilometers, starting from Chitgar Station on Line 5, and linking the west to the southeastern flank of Tehran with 17 stations.
All the four new lines will have numerous intersections with the already operating lines.
According to the new map, two express lines have also been suggested as a peripheral transport facility. One of the lines is to connect Sadeqiyeh Station on Line 5 to the capital's southern neighborhood Varamin. The other express line is set to link Pardis in the northeast to Parand in the southwest of Tehran Province.
The new map includes four Light Rail Transit lines that mostly cover the central parts of the city and are set to accompany the subway system to ease traffic congestion and crowd concentration in the area.
Under-Construction Lines
By bringing more and more subway stations on stream, urban managers in Tehran are making preemptive efforts to develop the clean mode of transportation, making life a tad easier for the residents.
Two stations named Basij and Madiyeh on the unfinished Line 7 were officially inaugurated in late August, increasing the number of the line's active stations to eight.
The 27-km Line 7, which connects the northwest to southeastern parts of Tehran, will have 25 stations.
The other under-construction line is Line 6, which is the longest line in the subway network connecting southeast to the northwest of the city. When completed, the line will have 27 stations. Three stations on the line have so far been launched.
Tehran Municipality officials say the subway network has expanded significantly in recent years and over four million people are currently using the trains every day. The figure is expected to climb by a massive 25% after subway lines 6 and 7 are up and running.
But this is definitely not enough for Tehran where, according to statistics, over 15 million people commute daily, many from the surrounding cities and towns. Subway expansion projects to areas with poor access to public transportation services are expected to make life easier for the general public.