Tehran is a modern city with a well-established transport system. Traveling by public transport is cheaper and more interesting than using a taxi. In Iran, the subway is the most popular type of public transport and today we’re going tell you some useful and interesting facts about it:

Metro in Tehran: the structure

The Iranian subway was built recently and is constantly being improved. At the moment the metro consists of four lines, but four new branches are already under construction, which will make the metro more practical form of public transport. The total length of the lines is about 200 km with 107 stations and 1256 cars. One of the operating lines leads to the international airport of Tehran.

There are two types of tickets in the subway. Going down the escalator, you will see two booths: one sells paper tickets for one or two trips, in the other, you will find electronic cards. If you are going to stay in Tehran for a few days, you can save money by using an electronic card that can be used not only in the metro but also in ground transport BRT (Bus Rapid Transit). When you exit, do not forget to draw an electronic card through the turnstile to get the part of the money for the fare back on the card.

The public transport, particularly the metro, is overcrowded at rush hours (in the morning from 7 to 10 and in the evening from 4 to 8). It is almost impossible to find an empty seat in the wagon, and if you manage to get into the train, you are lucky.

Metro in Tehran: how to behave in the metro

The peculiarity of Iranian public transport is that the places are divided according to gender. As for the metro, the first and last car is only for women and men are strictly forbidden to enter. The female car is less crowded and even at the rush hour, there are free seats. While men are not allowed to enter women’s trains, women can enter a common car only when accompanied by a man.

The wagons in the Tehran metro are new and clean. There are air conditioners in the cars and there is no characteristic smell. The maps of the lines and the board in English are placed near the doors, so you can find your stop, even if you did not hear which station was announced: the station will be indicated on the board.

In the subway, merchants walk around the wagons, offering all sorts of bric-a-brac. Many of them turn out to be pickpockets, so be careful.
Here is another interesting feature of the Tehran metro: if you are far from the door of the car and feel that you do not have time to get out of the car, just say loudly”bebachid” (I’m sorry). The locals respect the guests of their country and will politely let you go to the exit.