Chongqing Rail Transit

Chongqing Rail Transit

Overview
Locale	Chongqing
Transit type	rapid transit, straddle-beam monorail
Number of lines	4
Number of stations	115
Daily ridership	1.3701 million (2014 Avg.) 2.4 million (2014 Peak)
Annual ridership	310 million (2012)
Operation
Began operation	18 June 2005
Technical
System length	201.6 km (125.3 mi)
System map Error creating thumbnail: File with dimensions greater than 25 MP

Chongqing Rail Transit
Simplified Chinese	重庆轨道交通
Traditional Chinese	重慶軌道交通
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Chóngqìng Gǔidào Jiāotōng

Dongwuyuan station, CRT Line 2.

The Chongqing Rail Transit (CRT) also known as Chongqing Metro, is the metro system in the city of Chongqing, China and has been in operation since the year 2005. CRT serves transportation needs in the city's main business and entertainment downtown areas and inner suburbs. It is the oldest of the three metro systems in operation in the interior west of China, the others being Chengdu Metro, and Xi'an Metro which opened in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

As of May 2015, CRT consisted of four lines, with a total track length of 201.6 km (125.3 mi). Lines 1 and 6 are conventional heavy-rail subways, while Lines 2 and 3 are heavy-capacity monorails. Line 1 is the system's backbone connecting the most densely populated areas including the main Central Business Districts: Jiefangbei, Lianglukou, Daping, and Shapingba. Line 2 runs through three administrative districts in the central city (Yuzhong, Jiulongpo, and Dadukou). Line 6 runs from Jiangbei to Yubei. A system network of 18 lines in total is planned.

At 80 km (50 mi), the system's two monorail lines form the world's largest monorail network circa 2014, with the 55.5 km (34.5 mi) Line 3 being the world's longest single monorail line.

History

The CRT is part of the central government's project to develop the Western regions and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation provided part of the funding. Construction was carried out in cooperation between Changchun Railway Vehicles Co. Ltd. and Hitachi Monorail, using advanced Japanese monorail technology. Construction on Line 2 began in 1999, and it was officially opened in June 2005 from Jiaochangkou (Jiefangbei CBD) to Dongwuyuan Chongqing Zoo.

Timeline

• 18 June 2005 (Line 2): Jiaochangkou – Dongwuyuan
• 1 July 2006 (Line 2): Dongwuyuan – Xinshancun
• 28 July 2011 (Line 1): Jiaochangkou – Shapingba
• 27 September 2011 (Line 1): Jiaochangkou – Xiaoshizi
• 29 September 2011 (Line 3): Lianglukou – Yuanyang
• 8 October 2011 (Line 3): Yuanyang – Changfulu
• 30 December 2011 (Line 3): Lianglukou – Ertang & Changfulu – Jiangbei International Airport
• 28 September 2012 (Line 6): Kangzhuang – Wulidian
• 21 December 2012 (Line 1): Shapingba – Daxuecheng
• 26 December 2012 (Line 6): Kangzhuang – Lijia
• 28 December 2012 (Line 3): Ertang – Yudong
• 31 January 2012 (Line 3): Chalukou, Huaxi & Jinzhu
• 28 September 2012 (Line 6): Kangzhuang – Wulidian
• 26 December 2012 (Line 6): Kangzhuang – Lijia
• 15 May 2013 (Line 6): Lijia – Yuelai
• 31 December 2013 (Line 6): Lijia – Beibei
• 31 December 2014 (Line 2): Xinshancun – Yudong
• 31 December 2014 (Line 6): Wulidian – Chayuan

Network

Timelapse of the Chongqing Metro.

CRT is a unique metro system in China in that a significant number of lines use heavy monorail technology. In a hilly, multiple-river city it is not feasible to construct an all heavy-rail tunnel system given the depths of some many of the stations. For this reason, only two lines are planned to be heavy rail, the others straddle-beam monorails using heavy vehicles.

Line 1 is the first conventional subway running in a deep bored tunnel below Yuzhong and Shapingba Districts. The only other conventional subway is Line 6, which connects the main central business districts of Nanping in Nan'an District and Jiangbei's Guanyinqiao CBD and New City CBD to Jiefangbei CBD.

The monorail vehicles with strong climbing capabilities and have heavy rail capacity, which can transport 30,000 passengers per hour per direction, invaluable in the densely populated but hilly city. Line 2 is for the most part elevated above streets, although a 2.2 km (1.4 mi) section is underground, including three of its 18 stations in the Jiefangbei CBD and Daping downtown areas in hyper-dense populated area of Yuzhong District. In 2010, Line 2 served 45 million passengers.

To keep up with demand, construction is under way on extensions to Line 1, Line 2, Line 3, and Line 6, whose primary route is currently under trial. With the opening of Line 3 and Line 6 in 2012, all of the core urban area will be accessible by CRT.

Map of Chongqing Rail Transit            Error creating thumbnail: File with dimensions greater than 25 MP

Line	Terminals (District)		Opened	Newest Extension	Length km	Stations
(Heavy-rail)	Xiaoshizi (Yuzhong)	Jiandingpo (Shapingba)	2011	2014	38.9	23
(Monorail)	Jiaochangkou (Yuzhong)	Yudong (Ba'nan)	2005	2014	31.3	25
(Monorail)	Yudong (Ba'nan)	Jiangbei Airport (Yubei)	2011	2013	55.5	39
(Heavy-rail)	Chayuan (Nan'an)	Yuelai (Yubei) Beibei (Beibei)	2012	2015	75.9	32
Total					201.6	119

Line 1

CRT Line 1's logo.

Line 1 runs 16.4 km (10.2 mi) from Chaotianmen in downtown west to Shapingba, and eventually to Shuangbei with a length of 22.4 km (13.9 mi). It is the first heavy-rail subway line, the second in Western China. Passenger capacity is 36,000 passengers/hour/direction.

In 1992, the Chongqing government signed a Build-Operate-Transfer agreement with a Hong Kong company and provided the land for the project, but work ceased in 1997 due to legal issues. Work resumed from Chaotianmen to Shapingba on 9 June 2007, and opened to limited operation on 28 July. An extension from Shapingba to University Town began in 2009 and was scheduled to open in 2013. Thales provided an Operations Control Centre for this line.

Line 1 has 14 stations, including interchange stations with Line 2 at Jiaochangkou in Jeifangbei CBD and at Daping and with Line 3 at Lianglukou, near the Chongqing Rail Station in the Caiyuanba section of central Yuzhong.

Line 2

CRT Line 2's logo.

Line 2, a monorail line, runs 29.9 km (18.6 mi) and services 25 stations. It begins as a subway under downtown Jeifangbei, then runs west along the southern bank of the Jialing River on an elevated line, then turns south into the south-western inner suburbs, looping back east to terminate at Yudong in Ba'nan. It also runs through Daping CBD and Yingjiaping CBD in Jiulongpo District and the Chongqing City Zoo at Dongwuyuan Station. Most trains consist of four carriages, and six-carriage trains began to operate in September 2012. In 2013, eight-car trains are being considered due to overcrowding and increasing demand.

Line 3

CRT Line 3's logo.

Line 3 runs from north to south, linking the districts separated by the Yangtze (Chang Jiang) and Jialing rivers. The initial segment from Lianglukou to Yuanyang (18 stations, 17.5 km (10.9 mi)) opened on 29 September 2011, with a northern extension from Yuanyang to Jiangbei Airport opening on 30 December 2011 and a southern extension from Ertang to Yudong on 28 December 2012.

Most trains consist of six carriages, bigger than on the older Line 2, expected to upgrade to eight-car trains by 2014. Currently 8 car trains are undergoing testing. There are interchange stations in central Yuzhong district with Line 1 at Lianglukou (Caiyuanba Intercity Rail/Bus Station), and with Line 2 at Niujiaotuo.

Line 6

CRT Line 6's logo.

Line 6 is the second heavy-rail subway and extensions at both ends are under construction. Opened on 28 September 2012 it connects Nan'an, Yuzhong, and Jiangbei districts in central Chongqing. A northern branch line from Lijia to Wulukou, Beibei district was opened on 31 December 2013, 26.2 km (16.3 mi) long with five stations. Thales provided an Operations Control Centre for this line.

Network expansion

CRT is expected to have six lines criss-crossing the urban districts by 2015, and a loop line connecting them. However, in addition to the extensions to Lines 1, 2 and 3 only one line was under construction in mid 2011. Phase 1 for the Circle Line was expected to commence construction by the end of October 2013, linking Chongqing West Railway Station and Shanghao in Nan'an District with 22 underground stations, by 2018. Construction of Lines 4 and 5 commenced on 5 December 2013 to be completed by 2017, with Line 10 expected to start construction early in 2014.

Lines under construction

Route		Terminals		Length (km)	Stations	Construction Start Date	Completion	Status
	northern extension	Bijin	Jurenba	9.9	7	2013	2015	In full construction
	full loop	loop line through Chongqing North & Chongqing West		50.9	33	28 October 2013	2017~2018	In full construction
	phase 1	Xinpaifang	Tangjiatuo	17.6	9	3 December 2013	2017	In full construction
	phase 1	Jinyudadao	Tiaodeng	39.7	25	3 December 2013	2017	In full construction

Future lines

Planned opening	Route	Name	Terminals		Length(km)	Stations	Status	Notes
No time table
			Beibei	Shuangfu		21	planned
			Jieshi	Yulin		~18	proposed
			Railway Station West Road	Huashigou		~26	planned
2017			Lanhua Road	Wangjiazhuang			planned
No time table
			Danzishi	Industrial Zone		~9	planned
			Jinfeng South	Lujiao South		13	planned
			Huxi	International Western Region Panda Convention Center		5	planned
			Shuitu	Yulin		16	planned
			Shuangbei	Shengjibao		16	planned
			Xiangjiagang	Hujiaqiao		6	planned
			Xiyong	Jijiang		10	planned
			Shuitu	Caijia		2	planned

See also

• List of metro systems
• List of monorail systems
• Metro systems by annual passenger rides

External links

• Chongqing Metro official website (Chinese), Google translation
• UrbanRail.net's page on the Chongqing Metro
• Map
• Photographs of Chongqing Metro