China: First metro line opens in Xiamen

The Chinese city of Xiamen opened its first metro line on December 31. The 30.3km line runs north-south and links the mainland with Xiamen Island.

Line 1 starts at Yannei and runs south via North railway station, the Horticulture Expo Garden, and Jimei School Village at the tip of a peninsula before crossing to the island to terminate at Zhenhai Road in the southeast. The line includes an underground section to take it under two waterways.

The line has 24 stations, including Guanren on the future Line 6, Torch Hi-tech Park and Hubin East Road on Line 3, which is under construction, and Lucuo on the future Line 2.

CRRC has supplied a fleet of six-car aluminium-bodied type B trains for Line 1. Each 118.7m-long train is 2.8m wide and accommodates up to 2062 passengers.

Line 3 is being built from Xiamen mainline station in a loop around the island before heading northeast to provide a second connection to the mainland. The network is expected to grow to 267km with 139 stations by 2020.

Source: railjournal.com