On July 4, with the lighting of the launch ball at the event site, Hangzhou Metro Phase IV project marked a major construction milestone: the first shield machine, for the left line of the Xingqiao Station–Shiji Avenue Station section of Hangzhou Metro Line 3 Phase II, was successfully launched.

The Line 3 Phase II project has a total length of 7.5 kilometers and is constructed underground, comprising 5 stations and 1 sectional ventilation shaft, namely Shiji Avenue Station, Linping Station, Renmin Avenue Station, Shijiadai Road Station, Xingguang Street Station, and the sectional ventilation shaft between Xingqiao Station (excluded) and Shiji Avenue Station.

The Xingqiao Station–Shiji Avenue Station section of Line 3 Phase II, where this shield launch took place, is located in Linping District, Hangzhou, with a total length of approximately 2.74 kilometers. After launching from Xingqiao Station, the shield machine will pass beneath multiple important nodes, including an existing elevated railway bridge, railway subgrade, rivers, the Wangmei Road elevated bridge, and a tunnel box culvert. To ensure the safe and smooth launch of the dual-line shields in this section, the Municipal Metro Group organized the participating construction units to deploy and plan in advance, conducting comprehensive investigation and analysis of the geological conditions and building/structure data along the crossing section, jointly carrying out equipment selection and modification with the shield machine manufacturer, and convening multiple expert review meetings and special topic meetings to formulate detailed construction organization plans and emergency response plans.

At the same time, to further strengthen safety management, targeted modification work was carried out on the original Xingqiao Station of Line 3 Phase I before the shield launch, completing complex tasks such as shield machine assembly and commissioning within a limited working space, thereby providing strong support for subsequent shield tunneling.

The Hangzhou Metro Phase IV construction plan was approved by the National Development and Reform Commission on November 14, 2022, with a total route length of 152.9 kilometers. Among these, Hangzhou Municipal Metro Group is responsible for the construction of 7 lines (sections) including Line 3 Phase II, totaling approximately 147 kilometers and 80 stations. At present, with the active coordination of the Municipal Rail Transit Office and the strong support of relevant municipal departments, local governments, and citizens along the routes, the Hangzhou Metro Phase IV project has fully commenced construction. More than 50 work sites, including Shiji Avenue Station and Renmin Avenue Station, have entered the stage of constructing the main station retaining structures; the first shield machine has been successfully launched; and the remaining stations are stepping up preliminary works such as green space relocation, utility relocation, and traffic diversion.