Tehran mayor: Studies underway to set up LRT lines
The Tehran Municipality is studying plans to establish a light rail transit (LRT) system in the Iranian capital, the mayor of the metropolis said.
Light rail or light rail transit (LRT) is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems. However, it has higher capacity and speed than traditional street-running tram systems.
The LRT is usually powered by overhead electrical wires and used for medium-capacity local transportation in metropolitan areas.
“This project (LRT) is being studied. But no practical measures have been taken yet,” Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani told Mehr News Agency.
Zakani added that studies have been carried out with regard to launching tramway projects.
Experts have frequently blamed Tehran’s suffocating traffic as well as the worsening air pollution partly on the city’s old and inefficient public transportation system. This has pushed Municipality officials to explore ways to revamp the city’s transport system. The officials have said expanding public transport and other essential urban infrastructure in Tehran is a top priority for the Municipality.
Currently, the most used intra-city transport means in Tehran are Metro and bus rapid transit (BRT).
All transit service involves a trade-off between speed and frequency of stops. Services that stop frequently have lower overall speed and are therefore less attractive for longer trips but are more likely to go where the user wants.