SHANGHAI: A new depot
for subway trains will go into operation on December 29, the city's
metro operator said yesterday.
The building, measuring
414 m long by 164 m wide, and believed to be one of the biggest of
its kind in Asia, can accommodate 54 eight-carriage trains on 27
pairs of tracks for storage and maintenance purposes.
Chen Wenyan, the
project's deputy chief engineer, said the depot, which has been
fitted with an infrared alarm system, forms part of the extended
northern terminal of the metro's Line 1, which will open for
business on the same day.
As well as the new
station and train storage facility, the 2.3 billion yuan ($311
million) terminal complex, which covers 340,000 sq m, will feature
other facilities for testing and maintenance.
"Line 1 is the busiest of
the five lines in operation, carrying 40 percent of the more than 2
million passengers who use the service every day," the engineer
said.
"We introduced more
trains to ease traffic congestion during peak hours, but prior to
getting this new building, we didn't have enough space for storage
and maintenance."
The previous storage
facility could accommodate just 30 trains, he said.
"In the past, we had to
drive empty trains all the way up from the southern depot to the
northern terminal every night, so they could depart on time the
following morning," Chen said.
"With the new depot, we
will be able to increase our passenger capacity by 50 percent and
shorten waiting times during peak hours."
Once opened, the
extended Line 1, which will also feature two additional stations
between the old and new northern terminals, will span almost 37 km,
Chen said.
With the extension of
the city's Line 4 and opening of three new lines - 6, 8 and 9 -
also this month, the subway network will cover a total of 236 km,
he said.
By 2010, it is expected
to grow to more than 300 km, he said.
(China Daily
December 19, 2007)
