Metro Lines 6, 10 put into operation

Residents board a train on Metro Line 6. Sun Yuchen

Shenzhen Metro Lines 6 and 10 were officially put into use at 11:18 a.m. yesterday, bringing the total length of the city’s operational subway network to 383 kilometers. It increases the number of in-service Metro lines in Shenzhen to 10.

Line 6 runs 49.4 kilometers and has 27 stations between Science Museum Station in Futian District and Songgang Station in Bao’an District. A whole trip, which passes through Futian, Luohu, Longhua, Guangming and Bao’an districts, takes 66 minutes. It is the first Metro line that goes through Guangming District, shortening the trip from there to downtown Futian to 30 minutes.

The 29.3-kilometer Line 10 starts at Futian Checkpoint and ends at Shuangyongjie Station in Longgang District, calling at 24 stations.

The line, connecting Futian and Longgang districts, ends the total lack of subways in Pinghu, Bantian and Huawei New Town areas and relieves traffic congestion near the Meilin Checkpoint. A whole journey takes 54 minutes. One of the stations is named for Huawei and is located near the global headquarters building of the company.

Four other sections — Phase I of Line 8, Phase III of Line 2, Phase III of Line 3 and Phase III of Line 4 — will also be put into operation within the year, according to Shenzhen Metro Group.

Shenzhen is scheduled to open 107 kilometers of additional Metro rail line this year, which will lengthen the city’s in-service subway network to more than 400 kilometers.

Meanwhile, construction started yesterday on an additional four new sections, part of the Shenzhen Metro Phase IV project that includes nine lines of 75.93 kilometers with a total investment of 91.4 billion yuan (US$13 billion).

The four lines are Phase IV of Line 3, Phase II of Line 11, Phase I of Line 20 and Phase II of Line 13. The four lines, extending a total of 33.73 kilometers, are budgeted at 51.5 billion yuan.

Upon completion, the 9.35-kilometer Line 3 section within Longgang District will be the first subway to reach Pingdi.

Phase II of Line 11 will operate in Futian District and runs 4.4 kilometers between Gangxia and Hongling.

The 19.3-kilometer Phase II of Line 13 in Guangming District is planned to connect with the subway network of the city of Dongguan.

The 8.43-kilometer Phase I of Line 20 in Bao’an District will run between the planned Terminal 4 of the Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport and International Convention Center, and be further extended to link with Dongguan in the future.

The four lines are slated to open in 2025. By then, the city will have 16 Metro rails in operation with a total length of 647 kilometers.