Nanchang Metro, officially Nanchang Rail Transit, is a rapid transit system in Nanchang, Jiangxi, China. As of 2021, four lines are operational. The Metro opened for commercial operation in December 2015.[3] The network is currently 128.3 km (79.7 mi) in length with 4 lines. A total length of 163 km (101.3 mi) of network is planned, with Line 5 which is currently under planning.[4]
The construction of a rail transit system in Nanchang was first proposed in the beginning of the 2000s.[10] The population of the urban core of Nanchang is projected to reach 3.5 million people by 2020.[11] In August 2005, Jiangxi Provincial Development & Reform Commission and Nanchang City Government replied to the proposal of building a metro system, and the City Government considered listing the proposal in the Eleventh Five-year plan.[12] In November, a plan of 4 metro and 1 light rail was drafted.[13][14] In 2006, the City officially started the research of building a rail transit system.[15] In the second half of 2007, the prophase research of the construction of the system was initiated.[10] On 30 July 2008, the construction of Nanchang Metro was formally included in the priority agenda.[16]
Planning
Initial Plan
Planned network of Nanchang Metro
In 2008, Nanchang was approved to build a rail transit system by the State Council,[17] and Nanchang Rail Transit Group Co., Ltd. was incorporated on 16 October 2008 to construct and operate Nanchang Metro.[18] On 15 September, the planned 5 routes were notified to the public,[4][19][20][21] which was approved by the State Council in July 2009.[22][23] On 29 July 2009, the construction of Nanchang City Rapid Rail Transit officially began,[24][25] and also on the same day the detailed route and construction plan of the five lines was proclaimed at the press conference.[26]
In July 2010, the National Development and Reform Commission approved the feasibility study report of the first phase of Nanchang Metro Line 1.[27]
The Xinhua Bookstore by Bayi Square was demolished to make space for Nanchang Metro Line 1
Construction of Line 1 has started on 29 July 2009,[24] and the line opened on December 26, 2015.[28][29]
In April 2013, the Government planned to acquire approval for all 5 lines by 2014, start constructing all planned lines from 2015, and plan Line 6 to Line 10 to complement the existing network.[30][31]
As of August 2013, the construction of Line 2 also started with the first section opening on August 18, 2017.[32] The construction was planned for Line 3 to start in September 2014, and Line 4 will be constructed as soon as September 2015.[33][34]
Phase 2
On 31 May 2013, Nanchang Government submitted three candidate plans for the Phase 2 construction (2014-2020) to the expert panel,[35][36] which chose the compromising Plan 2.[33][37] According to the plan, Line 2 will be extended to both directions from 2014, Line 1 from 2016;
Line 1 north and Line 2 east extension both started construction on September 2021.[7][8] The project will extend Line 1 north from Shuanggang Station to Changbei Airport. The extension is 16.62 km (10.33 mi) in length, including 11.86 km (7.37 mi) underground and 3.23 km (2.01 mi) elevated.[6] Line 2 will be extended from Xinjia'an Station to Nanchang East railway station, the extension is 10.52 km (6.54 mi) in length and fully underground.[6]
Rolling Stock
Nanchang Metro uses Type B rolling stock, whose cars are 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in) in width, 3.8 m (12 ft 6 in) in height and 19 m (62 ft 4 in) in length, providing the system with maximum capacity of 30,000 to 55,000 passenger per hour per direction.[38]
Ticketing
Single ticket will be available as plastic packaged RFID coin like many other cities in China.[39] Existing pre-payment smart cards such as local Hongcheng Tong (Chinese: 洪城通) are also expected to be used in Nanchang Metro.
