Shenzhen sees surge in rail ridership

Shenzhen Metro has seen a rise in ridership, with 36.69 million passenger trips or 5.42 million passengers a day, handled between Jan. 2 and Sunday, the first week of the year.

The figure was 32.5% higher than the previous week, data from Shenzhen Metro Group showed yesterday.

Residents wait for a Metro train at the platform of Lingzhi Station in Bao'an District. Courtesy of Shenzhen Metro Group

Ridership during workdays reached 5.9 million passengers a day on average, up by 56.94% over the previous week, while the weekend passenger turnover reached 4.42 million a day, data showed.

Metro lines 1, 3 and 5 ranked as the top three among all lines, handling 698,100, 571,000 and 824,300 passenger trips per day on average, respectively.

With improvements in the COVID-19 situation, Metro ridership has returned to normal levels, according to the Metro group.

A Metro train approaches Futian Station.

Shenzhen North, Buji, Wuhe, Gangxia North and Chegongmiao stations ranked as the top five stations with the most passengers, reaching 208,900, 151,100, 140,800, 140,500 and 137,100 on daily average, respectively.

The city’s railway services also saw an increase of passengers over the four days since the start of the Spring Festival transport season Saturday. Between Saturday and yesterday, the city’s railway stations transported 794,400 passengers, up by 66.47% year on year, data from the municipal transport bureau showed.

To ensure a smooth holiday transport season, Shenzhen Bus Group has extended its service hours at major transport terminals like railway stations and the airport during the 15-day pre-festival period. It has extended the service time of buses M300 and M347, as per the schedules of trains departing from Shenzhen North Railway Station between 12 a.m. and 7 a.m. to ensure train passengers taking the buses can arrive at the station 30-60 minutes in advance.

During the post-festival period, the bus group will extend the departure time of buses M300 and M347, as per the schedules of trains arriving between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. to ensure passengers can leave the station within 30 minutes after their arrival. Service time was also extended for buses 101, M112, M205 and M508 at Shenzhen Railway Station.

Between Jan. 25 and Feb. 5, the bus operator will extend the departure time of buses A2, A4 and A5 to 30 minutes after the arrival of the last flight. During the holidays, Shenzhen Bus Group will deploy 10 buses on standby between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. to handle emergencies.