According to Ningbo Rail Transit, after more than three months of no-load trial operation and review of basic conditions for trial operation, Phase I of Rail Transit Line 3 is scheduled to open for trial operation at 10:00 on June 30. By then, Ningbo's rail transit operating mileage will reach 91 kilometers, and the number of operating stations will increase to 66.
As the first line to open in the second round of rail transit construction planning, Phase I of Line 3 started construction in December 2014. The project runs from Gaotangqiao Station in Yinzhou District in the south to Datongqiao Station in Jiangbei District in the north, with a total length of 16.73 kilometers and 15 stations, all underground.
Phase I of Line 3 connects bustling commercial areas such as the Southern Business District, Yinzhou Wanda, Incity, Metro, Tianlun Plaza, and Carrefour, and links urban landmarks such as the Yongjiang Science and Innovation Corridor, Municipal Stadium, Children's Park, and Ningbo Museum. It is truly a "golden economic line."
Line 3, together with Line 1 and Line 2, forms the basic framework of the urban rail transit network, covering Ningbo's main urban areas and connecting key areas such as Tianyi Commercial District, Southern Business District, Municipal Administrative Service Center, South Higher Education Park, North Higher Education Park, as well as transportation hubs such as Ningbo Railway Station, the airport, Passenger Transport Center, and Yinzhou Passenger Transport Terminal. In the future, it will also operate through with the Ningbo-Fenghua intercity railway. It is one of the backbone lines in the rail transit network and a major north-south transportation artery.
The full-line operation section of Phase I of Line 3 is Datongqiao Station - Gaotangqiao Station, adopting a single routing operation mode and a distance-based fare system with fares that "decrease progressively with distance." After the start of trial operation, the daily operating time will be 16 hours and 20 minutes, and the operating hours of other lines will be adjusted. Peak and off-peak intervals will be set according to different passenger flow demands; all stations on the line are equipped with barrier-free elevators (the barrier-free elevators at Gaotangqiao Station, Juzhang Road Station, and Datongqiao Station are not yet open), and tactile paving is installed at entrances/exits, passages, stairs, station halls, and platforms. The station guidance sign system is basically complete. Stations offer convenience measures such as wheelchairs, medicine boxes, and caring service cards, open a 24-hour service hotline, and provide caring reservation services to meet the travel needs of special passengers.
In addition, the rail transit authority will fully implement the 90-minute preferential transfer measure between rail and bus, accelerating the "integration of two networks" between rail transit and regular buses.