Karaj, Tehran's neighbor to the west, capital of Alborz province and part of the Greater Tehran agglomeration, with an estimated current population of 1,75 million (1,59 million according to the 2016 census) and over 2 million with the inclusion of suburbs, has become the sixth Iranian city to operate its own metro system.
Until now Line 5 of the Tehran Metro - in fact a suburban commuter express rail as opposed to the other lines (in my opinion, it would have been preferable not to include it under the metro nomenclature but label it as e.g. Express Line A) passed through Karaj, stopping at three different stations in that city before heading to Hashtgerd New Town some 20 kilometers from Karaj's western city limit. Locally, Line 5 of Tehran Metro is referred to as Line 1 in the Karaj Metro system.
But now, a first section of Karaj's intra-city MRT was inaugurated, namely a 6,5 kilometer stretch of Line 2 featuring two stations, Chehel-o-Panj Metri-e Golshahr and ĀyatOllāh Tāleqāni. Construction had begun in 1384 (2005-2006) and initially the first phase was expected to open five years afterwards. Total length of Line 2 will be 27 kilometers with 23 stations, and up to 35000 passengers per hour in each direction. This line will run through the city along an east-west axis beneath Beheshti Avenue, Karaj's central artery, and in the east after intersecting with Line 1 (i.e. Tehran's Line 5) it will operate a southward turn of approximately a hundred degrees, reach the suburbs of Fardis and Andisheh New Town some ten kilometers out and continue its path to Malārd about five further kilometers south. As we speak 15 kilometers of tunnels on Line 2 have been dug.
In all, Karaj's public transportation master plan provides for six metro lines (Tehran-Karaj-Hashtgerd express train plus five inner city metro lines). Rolling stock is identical to one of the types used in Tehran and station name plates follow the same design pattern as those of the capital. Line 6 will possibly extend to Tehran, it may be decided to make this an extension of Tehran Metro Line 10, or it could end at some other existing station in the western districts of the capital. Moreover, on an older map published by the Karaj urban railway company a second commuter express line is shown, which would arrive from Tehran via Shahryār and run east-west at the southern fringes of the Karaj agglomeration, interconnecting the termini of Lines 2 and 4 with the last stop being Payām International Airport (interchange station with Line 4).
Existing network overlaid on city districts map:
Complete network overlaid on city districts map:
Network map from the Karaj Urban & Suburban Railway Organization's (KUASRO) website:
Information on the six lines:
Line 2 inauguration:
To date, 340 kilometers of urban railways comprising more than 230 stations were built by the Islamic Republic. 200 additional kilometers and 137 additional stations are approved for construction.
The six Iranian cities equipped with metro systems so far, clockwise from the top left picture: Karaj, Tehran, Tabriz, Esfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad:
As a reminder, urban railways are also under construction in Qom, Ahvaz, Kermanshah, and plans are made for Kerman.
Sources:
https://www.hamshahrionline.ir/news/736679/
https://www.isna.ir/news/1401112418094/
https://www.karajmetro.ir/اخبار-سازمان/فاز-نخست-قطار-شهری-کرج-با-حضور-وزیر-کشور/
https://www.karajmetro.ir/اخبار-سازمان/وزیر-کشورتوطئه-اقتصادی-دشمن-شکست-خواه/
www.karajmetro.ir
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