Type Rapid transit Status Operational Opened December 28, 2012. Character Rapid transit Operator Wuhan Metro | System Wuhan Metro Services 1 Owner Wuhan Locale Wuhan Stations 28 | |
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Daily ridership 383,600 (2013 Avg.)
799,913 (May 2014 Peak) Terminis Optics Valley Square Station, Wuhan Tianhe International Airport | ||
The Line 2 of Wuhan Metro (Chinese: 武汉地铁二号线) is the first underground metro line crossing the Yangtze River. This line has started trial run on September 25, 2012, and has opened on December 28, 2012. It is Wuhan's second metro line after Line 1, and the city's first underground line, since Line 1 is mostly elevated. Line 2 runs in a northwest-southeast direction, connecting Hankou and Wuchang, including Hankou Railway Station and major commercial districts.
Contents
- Overview
- History
- Change of Names
- Paired Cross Platform Transfer
- Female Waiting Area
- Starbucks Metro Store
- Sale of Partial Naming Rights
- Rolling stock
- References
The number of single day passengers on Line 2 has exceeded 500,000 on Jan 1, 2013, the first weekday after its opening, excluding elders holding free passes. When more lines interchangeable with Line 2 open around 2015, the passenger volume could reach 1 million per day. To accommodate such huge traffic, all stations on Line 2 have been extended to the length of 8-car trains for future use.
Line 2 might be the most important metro line in the Wuhan Metro system for being able to carry the heavy cross-Yangtze traffic in Wuhan.
Overview
History
On the first day of the system's operations, 132,000 passengers were counted entering or exiting the system at the line's last station in Wuchang, Optics Valley Square Station (Guanggu Guangchang). By the early 2013, the weekday daily ridership (entries + exits) at the same station was counted at 95,000. As of April 2013 the daily ridership of Line 2 averages 383,600 people per day.
Change of Names
On August 23, 2012, five stations were renamed according to the result of a poll.
Paired Cross-Platform Transfer
Hongshan Square Station and Zhongnan Road Station offer paired cross-platform interchange for passengers riding between 4 directions of the two lines. The configuration for the two stations is similar to that of Mong Kok and Prince Edward stations in Hong Kong's Mass Transit Railway.
Passengers riding on Line 2 from Hankou wishing to reach Wuchang Railway Station, can transfer at Zhongnan Road Station by crossing the platform. Those who going to Wuhan Railway Station, can transfer at Hongshan Square Station by crossing the platform, and vice versa.
Female Waiting Area
Stations of Line 2 provides female only waiting area during hours of operation, following the example of Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Tehran and Mexico City, to protect female riders from sexual harassment. Wuhan became the first city to set up female only waiting area in China.
Starbucks Metro Store
China's first Starbucks Metro store is opened in Hongshan Square Station.
Sale of Partial Naming Rights
Partial naming rights of Jianghan Road Station of this line was sold to a local snack producer, Zhouheiya (Zhou's dark duck), and has aroused public discontent with the Wuhan Metro Group company. Some are upset by the fact that Metro company sold the rights without public input; some are because the product is not of high taste, and might affect the image of the city; some think it is fine, for selling partial naming rights is a good way to attract funding from the private sector, and does not materially affect the quality of the service.
As of November 23, 2012, all sale of partial naming rights are canceled.
Rolling stock
The rolling stock for Line 2 is currently 6-car trains, with 100 km/h max speed, 80 km/h operational max speed and 36.6 km/h average running speed. The collection shoe is installed on the lower part of the vehicle. The third rail is a mix of steel and aluminum. A full train provides 176 seats, and can carry 1276 passengers by Chinese regulation of 9 people per square meter. In the future 8-car trains will be used.