CHINA: Trams began running on test on the Qilin Line in Nanjing on October 10. Revenue services are due to begin by the end of the year.
The 9 km route links Maqun station on metro Line 2 with Wang Wu Zhuang. There are 13 stops, including one elevated, and the end-to-end journey time is 21 min. Trams will run at 7 min headways once regular services begin.
The Qilin Line uses seven five-section 100% low-floor trams supplied by CRRC Nanjing Puzhen. These are based on Bombardier’s Flexity 2 design and built under a 10-year technology licensing agreement between the two suppliers signed in 2012. Bombardier has supplied Primove lithium-ion batteries, Mitrac propulsion equipment and Flexx Urban 3000 bogies.
Each 32·5 m long, 2 650 mm wide tram is equipped with two 49 kWh batteries. These are recharged through the pantograph at stops, as only 10% of the route is equipped with catenary. Recharging time is 45 sec at intermediate stops and 10 min at the termini.
Eight more trams are operating on the unconnected 8 km Hexi Line, which opened on August 1 2014.
