CHINA: A 15·5 km northern extension of Heifei metro Line 5 was inaugurated on December 26, taking the total length of the Hefei Rail Transit network to 171 route-km serving 133 stations.
The opening came exactly a year after first section of Line 5 from Guiyanglu to Wanghucheng Xi was opened on December 26 2020. The extension from Wanghucheng Xi to Jiqiaolu adds another 13 stations of which two are interchanges, and brings the total length of the line to 40·7 km with 33 stations. Test running with passengers had been undertaken between December 19 and 21, prior to the official inauguration.
Line 5 is operated by 46 six-car Type B trainsets, which can operate at up to 80 km/h; according to the operator the average commercial speed is around 37 km/h. Each train can carry up to 2 054 passengers.
The city government is planning further expansion of the metro network, which is expected to reach eight lines with a total length of 285 km by 2026, at which point the average daily ridership is predicted to exceed 2 million passengers. The city is looking to increase the metro’s share of urban public transport usage from the current 48% to at least 60%.
