Tehran, the capital of Iran, started construction of a metro system already during the reign of the Shah, but due to financing problems the first mass transit line could not open until March 1999. This was the suburban line (shown on maps as Line 5) which links Tehran to the satellite town of Mehrshahr, some 40 km west of Tehran. Meanwhile construction of the first two metro lines also had advanced and the first stretch of Line 2, which links the Tehran terminus of the Mehrshahr Line to the city centre at Imam Khomeini, started regular service in February 2000. At present, Line 2 is 22 km long and has 22 stations (20 underground), with an average station distance of 1,100 m. Eleven 7-car-trains (137 m long) serve the line at a 2-minute headway, with 3rd-rail power supply (750V). See Farsi station names below.

At Imam-Khomeini-Square, the east-west Line 2 intersects with Line 1, which runs north-south. A first 10 km section opened in August 2001. The second stage from Darvazeh Dowlat to Mirdamad (7 km, 8 stations) opened in March 2002 and another 5 km stretch was added in Oct 2002. This line is being extended towards the south.

The Tehran-Karaj-Mehrshahr Express Line is a 41 km commuter surface line, which uses 6 double-deck 8-car-trains (248 m), locomotive-drawn with catenary (25KV), 10-minutes headway, 11 stations.

Photos © Toma Bacic

 History

xx-03-1999 - Line 5 - Tehran-Karaj- Mehrshahr Express Line (3 stations - 31.5 km)
21-02-2000 - Line 2 - Tehran (Sadeghieh) - Imam Khomeini (8 stations - 9.3 km)
28-08-2001 - Line 1 Ali Abad - Darvazeh Dowlat (10 km)
18-03-2002 - Line 1 Darvazeh Dowlat - Mirdamad (7 km)
23-10-2002 - Line 1 Ali Abad - Shahr-e-Rey (5 km)
xx-03-2003 - Line 1 Shahr-e-Rey - Haram-e-Motahar (Imam's Holy Shrine) (except intermediate stations)
xx-xx-2004 - Line 2 Imam Khomeini - Baharestan (1.6 km, 2 stations)
15-03-200x - Line 5 Karaj - Golshahr (9 km)
xx-03-2006 - Line 2 Bahjarestan - Elm-o-Sanat University (not all intermediate stations, only Shahid Madani and Sarsabz)
01-07-2006 - Line 2 Darvazeh Shemiran and Sabalan stations
13-11-2006 - Line 5 Atmosfer station added
19-04-2008 - Line 4 Ferdowsi - Darvazeh Shemiran (2.5 km)
15-02-2009 - Line 2 Elm-o-Sanat University - Tehran Pars
16-03-2009 - Line 4 Darvazeh Shemiran - Shohada Square
31-05-2009 - Line 1 Mirdamad - Gholhak
31-05-2009 - Line 4 Ferdowsi - Enghelab Square (excluding intermediate station)
31-01-2010 - Line 1 Gholhak - Gheitarieh (excluding intermediate station)
10-06-2010 - Line 2 Tehran Pars - Farhangsara
31-07-2010 - Line 1 Shahid Sadr station added
xx-10-2010 - Line 4 Shohada Square - Shahid Kolahdooz (5.5 km) (without intermediate stations)
17-10-2010 - Line 4 Vali-e Asr and Nabard stations
07-02-2011 - Line 4 Enghelab Square - Meydan-e Azadi (with only Towhid station in between)
09-05-2011 - Line 4 Doctor Habib-o-Ilah station
21-07-2011 - Line 1 Haram-e-Motahar - Kahrizak
27-08-2011 - Line 4 Sheykh-o-raeis station
05-11-2011 - Line 4 Ostad Moein station
09-01-2012 - Line 4 Piroozi station
19-02-2012 - Line 1 Gheitarieh - Tajrish

Note: Some dates have not been confirmed

When finished, Line 1 will be 28.1 km long (14.1 km underground). In the south Line 1 may be extended to Imam Khomeini Airport (with a possible suburban link to Vavan).

Line 2 may later be extended further east to connect with a suburban line to Damavand and Pardis.

Line 3 is to include 23 underground stations over a distance of about 24 km, and seven ground-level stations over a length of 11 km. The project is to be completed in five phases by 2014. Tehran Metro Line 3 starts from southernmost part in Islamshahr and after passing through Chahardangeh, Rah-Ahan, Monirieh and Vali-e Asr squares, it will reach Shahid Beheshti Street and then cross Resalat, Majidieh streets and Imam Ali-Shahid Zeinuddin Intersection to end in Lashgarak. Construction started in mid-2007.
Line 4 - 20 km; the initial section runs from Tehran Nau in the east to Azadi Square in the west, from where it will later be extended to the domestic airport. First section opened in 2008.

Four more lines are on the drawing board (see map):

Line 6 - from Bokharaei in the southeast to Sadeghieh in the northwest
Line 7 - from Yousef Abad in the north to Takhti Stadium in the southeast
Line 8 and Line 9 would form kind of a circle around the outer suburbs

Tehran Metro (official page)

Tehran Metro Story (doc, 15MB, from official site)

Tehran Metro Group

Non-offical Iran Railways Page (includes some subway info)

Murals in Metro stations

Tehran Metro at Wikipedia