“Tram” is a new dream for Tehran’s traffic

For some time, the Tehran Municipality has proposed to create a “tram” as a mode of rail transportation for what it calls “travel management”, an issue that has caused the members of the Tehran city council to emphasize its studies.

According to Isna, the issue of building a tram or electric car, which is one of the types of urban light rail (LRT), has been raised in Tehran for many years. It was initially raised in the 80s, and these light trains were supposed to be built in the Tehran market and for the development of urban tourism. to be launched, but gradually due to financial problems and the emergence of new concerns, it was removed from the agenda of city managers in the 80s. Now, the mayor of Tehran has again raised the issue of starting a tram in Tehran and in the beginning of November, he briefly announced that “we should use other models such as trams and bus development and revision of bus lines, and we have started studies on the construction of trams.” that in two or three lines it is possible to build it in Tehran. In this regard, meetings have been held and we are working on this issue. If this is possible, we will rely on the Hebanal-Damavand axis and we will adjust it so that it is possible to move passengers every five minutes.”

The words of the mayor of Tehran created a wave of questions because until the moment this news was announced, the members of the city council did not know about the idea of ​​starting a tram in the city of Tehran, and this caused Mehdi Chamran, the head of the Tehran city council, to say that the development of the subway is definitely our first priority. It is in the city administration, to announce: if we are talking about the tram, it is supposed to be used instead of the bus. Because the tram moves on rails and is electric and does not cause pollution in the air; But our city is full of intersections, and if trams with eight carriages like BRT buses are supposed to stay in traffic behind intersections, we should think about it.

Chamran continued: The construction of each kilometer of subway requires 1200 billion tomans and the municipality may not be able to provide it. But with the same amount, you can start a transportation system that complements the bus; However, our priority is the subway; Although the tram can also move a large volume of passengers; But this movement is not as much as the subway, and it should be taken into account that trams cannot be operated in streets with multiple intersections, although the operation of trams requires careful consideration.

After Chamran’s words, Parviz Sarvari, the vice-chairman of the Tehran Islamic Council, emphasized that the tram can meet some of the needs. But the studies of this plan should reach the council to be discussed and reviewed, he declares: The council and the municipality will use every capacity that can create an opening in the matter of transportation so that we can have a connection network in the field of transportation. Of course, a detailed report about the tram has not yet been given to the council and this issue is probably under study.

Trams, like flying taxis, must get a council permit

Why the tram? Buy a three-cabin bus

Ali Asghar Ghaemi, a member of the Transport Commission of Tehran City Council, reacts to the promise of the arrival of trams to the capital city by the mayor of Tehran and says: In the previous periods, some samples of three-cabin buses were imported, which were tested and we can use them instead of trams. Let’s focus on the arrival of these buses. Of course, in general, any new mode of transportation that wants to be activated in Tehran must first obtain the approval of the Supreme Council of Traffic, and then it must obtain approval from the Tehran City Council in order to be able to implement it.

He also stated that any new mode of transportation, such as tram, monorail, flying taxi, etc., which they want to implement in Tehran, must go through legal approvals, he continues: In general, the authorities can use different modes of transportation. and transportation, but they must provide its resources and go through the legal procedures, and regarding the tram, technical and specialized issues must be examined.

Qaemi, stating that when we enter into the discussions and expert review of the tram launch in Tehran, it is a different issue, adds: What does a tram mean? It means that two to three wagons move on the rail that is placed on the ground. Well, instead of this fashion, let’s buy a bus with two and three cabins and use it on the lines, which does not require infrastructure or rails.

Give us money to buy subway and bus spare parts instead

Vow investor for the tram!

Although Ghaemi, a member of the Tehran City Council, considers the establishment of the tram to be subject to specialized investigations in the council; However, Jafar Tashari Hashemi, the head of the transportation commission of Tehran City Council, referring to the mayor’s promise regarding the introduction of trams into Tehran’s transportation network, says: “In Tehran, more than we need a new mode of transportation, we need to allocate resources to provide parts.” spare parts and repairs, and after that we are buying new metro cars, and the tram is almost at the same level as the bus in terms of carrying capacity, and in other words, we cannot count on the tram for a greater capacity than the bus, perhaps because of the limitations of the tram compared to the bus. Even the amount of passenger movement is less. So, when we can move passengers with a cheap means of transportation such as a bus, there is no reason to go for a mode of transportation similar to a bus but with a price several times that of the bus network.

In response to the municipality’s effort to attract the participation of the private sector in the tram project, he states: an investor who has not vowed to spend his money on something that is not profitable for him, and on the other hand, people want public transportation from us, and even if If the investor comes, surely no one will invest with this bus and subway ticket price; Because currently, a metro ticket costs 20 thousand tomans for Tehran municipality, and only 2 thousand tomans are collected from passengers, and the rest is a subsidy that we pay. Is the investor willing to set up a tram in Tehran with a fare of two thousand tomans and not ask for subsidy from the municipality? The answer is definitely negative, and the municipality must somehow compensate the investor for this difference in costs, so instead of compensating for these unnecessary costs, the costs should be spent on reasonable works.

Now is not the time to bring up the tram!

Nasser Amani, another member of the Tehran City Council, also believes about the arrival of the tram in Tehran: “Now is not the time to bring up the tram; Because the basic infrastructure has not yet been completed and the tram will be used when the primary modes of transportation, i.e. subway and bus, have been completed, while in Tehran, buses and subways, which are the main means of transportation for people, are still not complete, and in the field of buses, only One third of the capacity is active, and whenever these two models, i.e. subway and bus, are completed, we can go to other modes of transportation.

Completion of tram studies within the next 6 months

According to the opinions and criticisms of the members of the Tehran City Council for the implementation of the tram, Ali Nadran, the Deputy of Studies of the Transport and Traffic Organization of the Transport and Traffic Organization of Tehran Municipality, in an interview with ISNA, says about the status of tram studies in Tehran: in the years In the past, detailed studies have been conducted on public transportation in Tehran, which were carried out in the form of a comprehensive transportation plan, and this comprehensive plan should be updated and modernized in 10-year time frames, and the latest transportation comprehensive plan And the approved quote is related to the year 2010, and in 1401, we presented the new comprehensive plan to the Ministry of Interior to be reviewed by the Supreme Traffic Council of the country.

He stated that in part of the comprehensive transportation plan, the design of Tehran’s rail transportation network has been taken into consideration, he adds: Of course, this issue has been done in previous studies, that a set of metro lines named high-traffic lines and a number of Lighter lines, so-called, known as urban light trains, it is mentioned that these urban light trains are usually light rail systems on the ground that were proposed to be built.

Stating that the subway network has been approved and approved by the Ministry of Interior and the urban light rail network, of which the tram is a part of this system, has been taken into consideration under the design of the rail transport network, Nadran continues: The trams we are considering are those old models. which may be associated in the minds of citizens; Rather, it is a modern tram with two or three carriages moving behind it, and its appearance is similar to subway trains but smaller, which has been identified by studies of several urban light rail lines. The results of its studies were not continued in the past due to some reasons, and recently, due to the increase in the costs of underground rail systems and the contribution to the desirable metro network of Tehran, which is the backbone of the capital, the studies of trams and urban light trains have been resumed.

Stating that the demand for the tram is lower than the metro, he says: Different routes have been determined in the previous studies of the tram, but in order to summarize and implement the urban light rail plan, we must conduct specialized public transportation studies that will prepare the groundwork for this study. and soon, in a period of time, technical, engineering, economic, etc. studies will be completed to start the tram in Tehran, and the process is going on.

In response to the question of whether the tram lines have been determined, the Deputy of Studies of the Transport and Traffic Organization of Tehran Municipality adds: In previous studies, lines such as Jumhori Street were identified. Also, some other routes were identified according to passenger demand, but the studies were stopped in the past, and now, after the studies are completed, we will take the plan to the city council and the traffic council so that they can also review this plan, but the traffic routes in the previous studies There is a certain limit and we only do expert evaluations and information updates.

Nadran also states about the timing of the completion of these studies: I hope that definitive studies that can be cited will be obtained in less than six months and we will announce their summary.