At 17:23 on January 9, a downbound train on Hangzhou Metro Line 4, which was supposed to clear passengers at Jinjiang Station, continued to Puyan Station with a full load of passengers. The southern section of Phase I of Hangzhou Metro Line 4 officially began trial operation (except Lianzhuang Station).
After departing from Yongjiang Road Station and Nanxingqiao Station (the interchange with Line 5), the train entered the Fuxing area, a long-established residential district in Hangzhou. At Fuxing Road Station, a group of aunties boarded at Shuichengqiao Station; they are residents of the nearby Baita Renjia community. “Our surrounding facilities are great, with mountains and the river, but transportation was lacking. Buses used to stop early, but now with the metro it’s so convenient.”
Although compared with the first day of opening of Line 2 from Liangzhu Station to Fengtan Road Station, not many citizens came to experience the southern section of Line 4 yesterday, most people are already used to scanning Alipay codes to exit the station. Even some aunties are proficient in using their phones to pass through the gates. Everyone hopes that mobile payment will be promoted across the entire metro network as soon as possible.
The Kuai Live team also boarded the first train and went to the Binjiang “Garbage Street” near Yangjiadun Station to eat and stroll.
The two-hour live broadcast attracted 400,000 viewers and instantly ignited many people’s college memories on various live streaming platforms. If you missed the live broadcast, it’s okay; scan the QR code to watch the replay.
40 minutes from Puyan to Pengbu, maximum fare 6 yuan
The opening of the southern section of Line 4 not only relieves traffic pressure on the First and Fourth Bridges but also connects Binjiang District, Qianjiang New City, and the main urban area.
From Puyan Station to Pengbu Station, the entire Line 4 is 20.1 kilometers long, and the full journey takes 40 minutes. The maximum fare for this section is 6 yuan.
A staff member of Hangzhou Metro Operation Branch said: “The southern section of Line 4 is mainly in the Binjiang area, and there are many residential communities along the route. So it’s very convenient to take Line 4 from Binjiang to Chengdong New City and Qianjiang New City. Moreover, the travel cost for most residents is not high; the maximum fare for the whole journey is 6 yuan, and most trips cost only 3-4 yuan.”
Mr. Xu, who lives in Nanxingqiao, has been looking forward to the opening of the southern section of Line 4. “I work near Chengxing Road Station and take a taxi every day, which costs about 300 yuan a month. Now with the metro, a round trip costs only 6 yuan a day, which not only avoids traffic jams but also saves a lot of money.”
Three lines have different departure intervals
but transfer waiting times are close to “seamless connection”
With the addition of the southern section of Line 4, the departure intervals for the entire Line 4 have also been adjusted. The peak-hour interval is about 4 minutes 30 seconds, and the off-peak interval is 5 minutes 50 seconds. When there is very large passenger flow, the interval is shortened to 4 minutes.
If you need to transfer during your commute, pay attention to the following times.
The departure interval for Line 1 in the main urban area (Passenger Transport Center Station to Xianghu Station) is 4 minutes during morning and evening peaks, and 4 minutes 30 seconds during off-peak hours; for the branch line (Linping/Xiasha Jiangbin to Passenger Transport Center), the interval is 8 minutes during peaks and 9 minutes during off-peak hours.
For Line 2, the departure interval is 4 minutes 30 seconds during peak hours and 5 minutes 50 seconds during off-peak hours.
A staff member of Hangzhou Metro Operation Branch said: “If passengers transfer on the same platform of the same line, the two trains in opposite directions can basically arrive at the same time. For same-platform transfers between different lines, the waiting time can also be shortened; although the waiting time for each train may vary, it will basically be close to the goal of seamless connection.”
The next line to open is Metro Line 5
Planned completion by the end of 2019
Among the first riders of the southern section of Phase I of Line 4, many were not residents along the route. Many citizens living in Baoshanqiao, Datieguan, Changhe Street, Santang, and Gongchenqiao also came to experience it. Their only reason for coming was to feel the convenience brought by the new metro line and to envision future metro life at their doorsteps.
Mr. Zhao, who came from Gongchenqiao in the north of the city to Nanxingqiao in the south to try the new metro, said: “The station of Line 5 will be right at my doorstep in the future, and Nanxingqiao Station is the transfer station between Line 4 and Line 5. Today I took a bus from my home to Nanxingqiao, which took more than an hour. In the future, I can compare which is faster and more convenient with the metro. I really hope Line 5 will be built soon.”
According to the latest metro construction schedule announced by the Municipal Metro Group, Line 5 is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2019. This may be the next new metro line to open after the southern section of Phase I of Line 4. Once completed, it will fill the metro gaps in Future Sci-Tech City, the northern part of the city, along Jianguo Road in the city center, and Changhe in central Binjiang. However, citizens will need to wait patiently for some time.
In 2018, no new metro lines will open in Hangzhou. At the same time, it enters a major construction year. By the end of 2019, the Hangzhou-Lin'an Line, which seamlessly connects with Line 5, will also be completed simultaneously. In the following two years, Hangzhou Metro will usher in a period of line explosion, with Phase III of Line 1, Line 3, Phase II of Line 4, Line 6, and other lines being completed one after another.
Currently, the latest news from the Metro Group shows that Phase III of the metro will fully start construction before this year’s Spring Festival and is planned to be fully completed before the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games. By then, the Hangzhou metro network will be larger and more extensive.