According to Changzhou Rail Transit Development Co., Ltd., the first phase of Changzhou Rail Transit Line 1 is currently progressing smoothly, and the first phase of Line 2 will also fully start construction on the 13th of this month. Therefore, 2017 will also become a critical year for Changzhou rail transit with two lines advancing simultaneously and overcoming difficulties.
According to Hu Daoyun, deputy general manager of Changzhou Rail Transit Development Co., Ltd., the first phase of Changzhou Rail Transit Line 2 has a total length of 19.79 kilometers and consists of 15 stations, including 14 underground stations and 1 elevated station. The average station spacing is 1.38 kilometers, with 18.23 kilometers of underground line and 1.24 kilometers of elevated line.
The 15 stations from west to east are Qingfeng Park Station, Haitang Road Station, Wuxing Station, Qinye Station, Huaide Station, Nandajie Station, Wenhua Palace Station, Hongmei Park Station, Wujiaochang Station, Sanjiaochang Station, Ziyun Station, Qingyang Road Station, Dingtanghe Park Station, Lucheng Station, and Wuyi Road Station. Among them, Qingfeng Park Station, Qinye Station, Huaide Station, Wenhua Palace Station, and Ziyun Station will form transfer hubs with other metro lines in the future, including a transfer with the under-construction Line 1 at Wenhua Palace.
The first phase of Line 2 passes through Zhonglou District, Tianning District, and Changzhou Economic Development Zone, and along the way passes through the administrative and commercial center of Zhonglou District, Wuxing residential area, Qinye residential area, Yanling Road-Nanbei Street municipal commercial center, Wenhua Palace commercial and leisure center, Tianning scenic and historic tourist area, Hongmei and Dongfang New City, etc. After completion, it will form a cross-shaped main skeleton with Line 1, which will help improve the urban traffic structure, alleviate traffic pressure, and strongly support the further optimization of the urban structural layout.
Starting from February 13 this year, Rail Transit Line 2 will enter the main enclosure construction phase. Among them, 6 stations will enter the site in early February, including Qingfeng Park Station, Haitang Road Station, Nandajie Station, Hongmei Park Station, Dingtanghe Park Station, and Qingyang Road Station. The remaining stations will also be constructed successively in the first half of the year depending on site conditions.
Hu Daoyun also introduced that after more than a year of construction, the first phase of Rail Transit Line 1 is progressing smoothly and is expected to complete tunnel breakthrough by the end of 2017, track connection by mid-2018, and power connection by the end of 2018. In rail transit construction, these three major milestones are all milestone nodes. After completing these nodes and the installation and commissioning of electromechanical equipment and station decoration, trial operation is expected to begin around the end of 2019.
It is also reported that the sections with the greatest traffic impact during the construction of Line 2 are the Qinye Road section and the middle section of Yanling Road. To cooperate with the full start of the first phase of Line 2, the construction department has completed in advance the road construction project for Laodong West Road (Wuxing Road ~ Longjiang Road, Changjiang Road ~ Shizi River) to divert east-west traffic on Qinye Road; the construction of Qinye North Road Bridge (Sanbao Street ~ Yunhe Road) has added a cross-canal passage to divert traffic from Changjiang Road and Longjiang Road; road construction such as Sanbao Street (Changjiang Road ~ Wuxing Road) has further improved traffic capacity to ensure basic travel needs during construction. However, in reality, inconvenience to citizens' travel during construction is inevitable. Changzhou Rail Transit Development Co., Ltd. and the Changzhou traffic police department call on citizens to be more understanding, keep informed about traffic planning and bus route adjustments, and plan their travel reasonably.