CHINA: Public holidays marking the 75th anniversary of the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China on October 1 saw metro and suburban lines opened in four cities.
On September 26 Xi’an opened a new line and extended two others. This added over 43 route-km, with the city’s metro network now comprising 10 lines totalling 353 km with 211 stations.
The 34·4 km north-south fully-automated Line 10 Phase 1 has 17 stations; 11·9 km and seven stations are underground with the rest is elevated. From Jingshangcun on the northeast edge of the city centre, the line runs north via interchange with Line 14 to Zhaohuiguangchang, becoming the first metro line to serve Gaoling district. Shaanxi Provincial Development & Reform Commission approved its construction on July 1 2020 and work began on September 18 of that year. The 100 km/h route uses a mix of four and six-car Type-B2 trainsets, and at present the shortest headway 6 min 50 sec.
Line 5 was extended 3·4 km east from Matengkong to Yanminghu, whilst Line 6 was extended 4·5 km southwest from Xi’anguojiyixuezhongxin to Xi’an Nan, where a future main line station is to be developed; both extensions have one intermediate station,
On September 28 Tianjin’s Line 5 was extended by 1·3 km from Liqizhuangnan southwest to Jinghuadongdao, where there is an underground interchange with the new 13·4 km Jinjing Line. This runs on an elevated alignment southwest across the Duliujian river to Tuanboyixueyuan with two intermediate stations. Two services are operated: Jining Line locals are worked by three-car trains, whilst six-car units run through between Line 5 and the Jinjing Line.
Maximum speed on the Jinjing Line currently is 120 km/h, but upgrading to 160 km/h and a southward extension is envisaged.
Tianjin’s urban and suburban metro network now comprises 11 lines totalling 325 route-km.
On September 29, Chengdu’s 38·7 km Line S3 opened from Futian to Ziyang Bei. This suburban line branches southeast from an interchange with express metro Line 18 at Futian on a 28·3 km elevated alignment before descending into a 10·3 km tunnel under the city of Ziyang and terminating at Ziyang Bei station on the Chengdu–Chongqing Intercity Railway; four of the line’s seven stations are underground.
Maximum operating speed is 160 km/h giving a 26 min end-to-end trip time. The line uses 11 four-car Type-A trainsets from CRRC Chengdu, similar to those used on Phase II of Chengdu’s Line 19. Each train is 95·8 m long and 3 m wide, with capacity for 1416 passengers.
Also known as the Ziyang Line, approval from the National Development & Reform Commission was given in 2015, but construction did not begin until November 27 2020.
Lastly, on October 1 Wuhan’s Line 7 was extended 15·1 km further north from Hengdian to serve the satellite city of Huangpi. At 84·1 km it is one of the longest metro lines operated as a single line. The extension is mostly elevated, with a station and depot at Qingzicun, before the final 3·5 km in tunnel with two underground stations at Baitai Rd and Huangpi Square. The 100 km/h line has a fleet of 85 Type-A six-car trainsets delivered in three batches by CRRC Changchun and CRRC Zhuzhou, but all the stations are built to accommodate eight-car trains in the future.
