CHINA: The country’s seventh oldest metro network has expanded further, with the opening of two extensions in Wuhan totalling 25·3 km.
Longer of the two is a northern extension of Line 7 from Garden Expo North to Hengdian, which opened on December 30. This adds 21·1 km and seven stations, taking the line to a total length of 69 km with 33 stations. The northernmost 5·9 km serving three stations is elevated, and laid out for 120 km/h operation in the future. A further 15·4 km section from Hengdian to Huangpi Square with four stations is currently under construction; this is also being designed for 120 km/h.
Line 7 is currently worked by six-car Type A trainsets with a maximum speed of 100 kmh. The first 40 sets were delivered by CRRC Changchun in 2016-18, followed by 15 from CRRC Zhuzhou in 2018-20. CRRC Changchun is now supplying another 30 for the latest round of extensions. All the stations on the line have been built to accommodate eight-car trains, except on the section north of Tianyang Boulevard, which is set to be hived off as a separate Line 28, also known as the Qianchuan suburban line.
The other extension, inaugurated on December 26 adds 4·2 km to the southern end of Line 16, from Zhoujiahe to Hannan General Airport with two stations. The first phase of this line, which is branded as the Hannan suburban line, was opened in December 2021. The extension takes the route to a total length of 35·9 km with 14 stations. The 120 km/h line is worked by a fleet of 25 four-car trainsets supplied by CRRC Zhuzhou.
