Transportation in Mashhad

Mashhad's transport revolves around its metro and a dense bus network. The two metro lines, Line 1 (red) and Line 2 (blue), are the fastest way to cross the city and reach the Holy Shrine area. Trains run every few minutes from early morning until about 22:00. A rechargeable "Man-Kart" from any station kiosk works on both metro and city buses and spares you the token queue. Buses fill the gaps where the metro doesn't reach, but traffic around the shrine can make them slow, use them for shorter hops or when the metro stops running. For airport access, Line 1 runs directly to Shahid Hasheminejad Airport; it's cheap and quick. But the last train leaves the airport around 0:30. After that, the official taxi rank outside arrivals is the safe choice, agree on a metered fare before loading your bags. Avoid the freelance drivers inside the terminal. They often quote inflated flat rates.