Updated November 2026 We have revisited the 2023 metro carriage deal to explain where things stand, including Iran’s move to build its own metro trains.
In autumn 2023 Tehran Municipality announced the biggest rolling stock order in the history of the Tehran metro: 791 new carriages, worth roughly US$1bn, to be supplied from China. For anyone who squeezes onto a crowded Line 1 or Line 4 train at rush hour, the promise was simple: more trains, shorter waits and fewer breakdowns. Three years on, the picture is more complicated.
What the 2023 deal involved
The order was presented by Mohsen Hormozi, then the municipality’s deputy for transport and traffic, as a joint effort between the city and the national government. It grew out of an earlier agreement for 630 carriages valued at around US$870m; adding a further 161 cars took the total to about US$1bn. At the time, city officials said their first priority was to finish lines already under construction before pushing the network further out.
Alongside the new order, the city said it was spending heavily on overhauling worn-out trains that had been taken out of service for lack of spare parts. The aim of both measures was the same: to cut the gap between trains, which on some lines had stretched well beyond what passengers were used to.
Delivery has been slow
Officials originally said the first trains from the Chinese order would arrive within a year. In practice, the contract has been dogged by financing and payment problems, and Persian-language media have repeatedly reported delays and disputes between the municipality and central government over who should pay. We have not been able to confirm how many of the 791 carriages have reached Tehran so far, so treat any headline figure with caution.
Iran’s own metro trains
The more concrete development has come from inside Iran. In early 2025 Tehran Wagon Manufacturing Co received approval to build metro trains in series with around 85% locally made content, after testing a prototype seven-car set for about a year and a half. The National Train project behind it began in 2019. The first order covers one eight-car train and 15 seven-car trains, with MAPNA supplying car bodies and bogies.
Even so, the scale of the gap is large. Officials estimate the Tehran metro needs around 1,500 additional carriages, and the domestic factory has said it can turn out roughly one car a day. Most of the trains you ride today were built in China or assembled from Chinese kits.
What it means if you ride the metro
The Tehran metro now has seven operating lines and well over 150 stations, with more lines under construction. It remains the quickest way to cross the city, but expect packed carriages at peak times, particularly on Lines 1, 3 and 4, and occasional long waits on newer lines where fewer trains run.
- Travel outside 7–9am and 4–7pm if you can.
- Every train has carriages reserved for women at each end; men and women can ride together in the rest.
- Combine the metro with buses for the last stretch: our Tehran bus timetables guide covers the main routes.
- Check current fares on our Iran prices pages, as they rise each year.
The city is also betting on surface transport to take pressure off the metro, from new electric buses to plans for trams. Whether the long-promised new carriages finally arrive in numbers will decide how much easier the daily commute becomes.
