TEHRAN — Tehran subway system had a significant part in reducing air pollution in the capital during the past years of its daily operation.

Subway system has helped cut some 1.4 million tons of harmful emission in Tehran over the past 11 years, Mohammad Ahmadi Bafandeh, CEO of Tehran Urban and Suburban Railway Operation Company has said.

Commenting on public transportation’s direct impacts on minimizing air pollution Bafandeh further highlighted using the subway has resulted in 4.5 billion liters less petrol consumption over the same period.

The five operational subway lines with the total length of 188 kilometers, 107 stations and 1256 wagons deliver some three million rides on a daily basis, Nasimonline quoted Bafandeh as saying.

In 2005-2006 the subway delivered 24 million rides which jumped to almost 34 folds in the current year with over 800 million rides, he pointed.

Despite various measures taken by responsible bodies and organizations choking air pollution keeps hitting metropolises of Iran regularly.

The pollution is blamed on numerous factors such as mismanagement, old and insufficient public transportation, old clunkers, sand mines around the city, construction sites, tall buildings, carburetor motorcycles, etc. The list goes on and on but it seems that addressing all these challenges are pretty tricky and grueling.

MQ/MG