Kunming Metro

Kunming Metro
Kunming Metro Logo
Kunming Metro Train
Overview
Native name昆明地铁
OwnerKunming Rail Transit Group
LocaleKunming, Yunnan, China
Transit typeRapid transit
Number of lines6 (Operational)
Line number 1   2   3   4   5   6 
Number of stations115
Daily ridership798,100 (2021 daily avg.)[1]
Annual ridership222 million (2021)[1]
Operation
Began operation28 June 2012; 11 years ago (2012-06-28)
Operator(s)Kunming Rail Transit Group
Headway5 minutes (Lines 1/2) 8 minutes (All others)
Technical
System length164.3 km (102.1 mi)
Track gaugeStandard gauge
Average speed80 km/h (50 mph)
Top speed120 km/h (75 mph)
Kunming Metro
Simplified Chinese昆明轨道交通
Traditional Chinese昆明軌道交通
Literal meaningKunming Rail Transit
Alternative Chinese name
Simplified Chinese昆明地铁
Traditional Chinese昆明地鐵
Literal meaningKunming Subway

Kunming Metro, or Kunming Rail Transit, is a rapid transit system in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province. With a rapidly growing population of just over 3 million people at the time (And over 5 million people living in the built-up urban area as of 2024), Kunming was one of the largest cities in China without a metro system before its construction.[citation needed] The system currently consists of 6 lines with 2 extensions to existing lines under construction and 5 more lines planned.

Background

The streets of Kunming have long been congested, and as such there have been talks of a subway system since the late 1990s. A 2006 proposal would have seen construction start in 2008 with a north-south line and an east-west line. The current rapid transit system was first announced in 2009, with construction scheduled to start later that year. The proposed routes would not only serve commuters in Kunming city centre, but would help encourage development to the city's southeast. The suburb of Chenggong has been the site of a recent construction boom, although most new developments were still unoccupied without adequate transit connections. Thus, the Kunming Metro served the dual purpose of alleviating traffic problems in the city's core and encouraging growth in the southeast.[citation needed]

Construction on Lines 1 and 2 officially began in May 2010, after months of delays.[2] An elevated test section had been under construction since 2009. Lines 1 (34 km) and 2 (22 km) were scheduled to open in 2012, but with delays, weren't opened until early 2013. Construction on Line 3 began in August 2010 and was opened on 29 August 2017.[3]

Construction of Line 1 was expected to cost as much as 32 billion yuan (US$4.5 billion), with each kilometer of elevated metro costing around 250 million yuan and each kilometer of underground subway expected to cost between 400 million and 800 million yuan. The primary contractor is China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC).

Rolling stock

The trains of Line 6 were manufactured by China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corporation Ltd (CSR) in Zhuzhou.[4] 6-car sets operate at 120 km/h. CSR met journalists in October 2011 to discuss the safety concerns arising from operating trains at such speeds.[5] Minor changes have been made to the rolling stock over time. Line 3 trains feature a digital route map with a basic UI. Line 4 trains have darker flooring, a new TV interface, and a completely remade route map UI. Line 5 trains reverted the flooring color back to white, remade the TV interface again, modified the route map UI, and feature projectors on the sides of the train that project advertisements onto the tunnel walls.[citation needed]

Lines

Operational

Kunming Metro lines
Line Terminals
(District)
Commencement Newest
Extension
Length
km
Stations
 1  South Ring Road[a]
(Guandu)
University Town (South)
(Chenggong)
2013 2016 33.3 22
Kunming South Railway Station
(Chenggong)
 2  North Coach Station
(Panlong)
South Ring Road[a]
(Guandu)
2014 12.4 14
 3  Western Hills Park
(Xishan)
East Coach Station
(Panlong)
2017 23.4 20
 4  Jinchuan Road
(Wuhua)
Kunming South Railway Station
(Chenggong)
2020 43.4 29
 5  World Horti-Expo Garden
(Panlong)
Baofeng
(Guandu)
2022 26.5 22
 6  Tangzixiang
(Panlong/Guandu)
Kunming Airport
(Guandu)
2012 2020 25.3 8
Total 164.3 115

Line 1

Line 1 is currently 33.3 km long with 22 stations, running from South Ring Road to University Town (South) and Kunming South railway station. Lines 1 and 2 currently have through service, which will end when Line 1 Northwest Extension and Line 2 Phase 2 are completed, turning South Ring Road into an interchange station. After the Northwest Extension opens, Line 1 will run from Jiaochang North Road to University Town (South) and Kunming South Railway Station. The first phase of Line 1 came into operation on May 20, 2013.[6] The second phase of Line 1 came into operation on April 30, 2014. A 5.3 km long branch line to Kunming South railway station was opened on 26 December 2016.[7] Line 1's route currently consists of an elevated section connecting Kunming to Chenggong and an underground section below Caiyun Road within Chenggong. The northwest extension will be underground, surrounding the west side of Kunming's city center. It is Kunming's main rail link to Chenggong. Line 1's color is red.

Line 2

Chuanxin Gulou Station on line 2

Line 2 is currently 12.4 km long with 14 stations, running from North Coach Station to South Ring Road. Lines 1 and 2 currently have through service, which will end when Line 1 Northwest Extension and Line 2 Phase 2 are completed, turning South Ring Road into an interchange station. After Phase 2 opens, Line 2 will run from North Coach Station to Haidong Park. The first phase of Line 2 came into operation on April 30, 2014. Line 2's route currently consists of a short elevated section from North Coach Station to Longtou Street and an underground section beneath Beijing Road until the line's current terminus at South Ring Road. Phase 2 will be dug beneath Guannan Avenue and Fubao Road towards Haidong Park. It is Kunming's main north-south line. Line 2's color is blue.

Line 3

Line 3 started operation on 29 Aug 2017, consisting of 19.16 km of line with 20 stations running from Western Hills Park to East Coach Station. It is Kunming's main east-west line.[8] Line 3's color is magenta.

Line 4

Line 4 started operation on 23 September 2020, consisting of 43.4 km of line with 29 stations running from Jinchuan Road to Kunming South Railway Station.[9] It connects Northwest Kunming and Eastern Kunming to the metro while serving as a second link to Chenggong. Line 4 has cartoon mascots exclusive to the line known as the "K4 Cats" that promote ridership of the line. Line 4's color is orange.

Line 5

Line 5 started operation on 29 June 2022, consisting of 26.5 km of line with 22 stations running from World Horti-Expo Garden to Baofeng.[10] Line 5 serves as a tourism line, linking tourist destinations such as World Horti-Expo Garden, Caohai Dam, and Haigeng Park. Line 5's color is green.

Line 6

Line 6 consists of 25.3 km of line with 8 stations running from Kunming Airport to Tangzixiang. Phase 1 opened on 28 June 2012. Phase 2 opened on 23 September 2020, extending the line to Tangzixiang station just south of Kunming's city center.[9]It is an airport express line connecting the city center with the new Kunming Changshui International Airport.[11] Its original terminus at East Coach Station was not connected to any other line until the opening of Line 3 in 2017. The two intermediate stations between East Coach Station and Kunming Airport were built as infill stations.[11] Line 6 temporary ceased operation on 5 March 2016 to complete the two infill stations and reentered operation on 29 August 2017 with a total of four stations.[8] Line 6's color is teal.

Under construction

Line 9, the Songming Line, the Anning Line and the extensions of Lines 1 and 2 are under construction. All station names that are included in phase 1 have been confirmed.[12]

Opening
Line
Phase/extension Terminals Total Length
in km
Stations Notes
2024  1  Northwest ext. Jiaochang North Road South Ring Road 7.55 7 [13]
2024  2  Phase II South Ring Road Haidong Park[14] 14.285[14] 11[14] [14]
TBA  9 [15][16] Phase I Guangdian University Jincheng South 50.4 28 [15] [16]
TBA  9  Phase II[17] Dabanqiao Guangdian University[17] 32.9[17] 18[17] [17]
TBA  Songming  Full line[18] [19] Kunming Airport T2 Songming 20 5 [18] [19]
TBA  Anning  Full line[18] [19] Kunming West Railway Station Vocational Education Center (South) 29.8 9 [18] [19]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Through operation between Line 1 and Line 2 is currently provided, meaning passengers do not need to transfer at South Ring Road station

References

  1. ^ a b "运送乘客237.1亿人次,新增运营里程1168公里…2021年城市轨道交通运营成绩单". 2022-01-13. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  2. ^ "昆明地铁1号2号线首期工程开工_新闻中心_新浪网". news.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  3. ^ Dan Siekman (2011-02-17). "Metro Line 3 construction to start this month". GoKunming. Retrieved 2013-08-17.
  4. ^ "World rolling stock market July 2011", International Railway Gazette, 19 July 2011.
  5. ^ Horton, Chris (2011-10-31). "Manufacturer addresses Kunming metro safety, comfort concerns". GoKunming. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  6. ^ "昆明地铁首期工程(南段)今日试运营 - 新闻中心 - 昆明轨道交通有限公司". 2013-09-25. Archived from the original on 2013-09-25. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
  7. ^ "昆明地铁1号线支线开通 实现城市轨道交通与高铁无缝对接". People's Daily. 2016-12-26. Archived from the original on 2017-09-07.
  8. ^ a b "昆明地铁3号线6号线一期今日通车试运营". 新华网. 2017-08-29.
  9. ^ a b "昆明轨道交通4号线、6号线二期 开通初期运营公告". 2020-09-22.
  10. ^ "昆明轨道交通5号线29日要开通初期运营了". 2022-06-28. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  11. ^ a b "第一批地铁车厢运抵昆明". Archived from the original on June 19, 2012. Retrieved June 15, 2012.
  12. ^ "昆明地铁时代来了,7年内拟新建轨道达126公里". Retrieved June 15, 2012.
  13. ^ "昆明地铁6号线二期力争明年底达到通车条件_云南网". yn.yunnan.cn. Retrieved 2019-01-22.
  14. ^ a b c d "地铁2号线二期新增海东公园站". 2022-08-11. Archived from the original on 2022-09-09.
  15. ^ a b "关于昆明地铁9号线,官方最新回应来了". 2022-02-25.
  16. ^ a b "昆明地铁9号线何时开建,经过黄土坡吗?官方回复". 2022-12-08.
  17. ^ a b c d e "昆明市轨道交通9号线二期工程".
  18. ^ a b c d "昆明地铁嵩明线、安宁线,2021年又有新消息了". 2021-06-21.
  19. ^ a b c d "地铁嵩明线、安宁线提上日程4大新项目首次开盘•乐居小喇叭NO.21". 2021-06-28.

Sources

  • news.kunming.cn Archived 2012-07-01 at the Wayback Machine
  • yn.xinhuanet.com

External links

  • Kunming Metro Official Website Archived 2011-01-29 at the Wayback Machine
  • UrbanRail page on Kunming Metro
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kunming_Metro&oldid=1213201868"