Han Ximin

THE city is planning to place an order for 4 billion yuan (US$615 million) to buy more Metro trains and shorten the intervals of departures and reduce passenger congestion at Metro stations.

After more Metro lines opened in the past two weeks, the number of commuters had exceeded 1 million a day by June 24, according to Lin Maode, general manager of the Shenzhen Metro Co.

"This is a landmark. With the opening of the extensions of Shekou and Longgang lines, and changing commuting habits by Shenzhen residents, we expect passenger turnover at the end of the year will reach 2 million," Lin told a news conference yesterday.

The biggest challenge facing Lin is the shortage of Metro trains. Without trains, passengers will be stranded at crowded stations and efficiency would not improve.

Trains on most lines now depart at 10-minute intervals. On the Huanzhong Line, the interval is 13 minutes.

"We are trying to shorten the intervals to 8 minutes and for the Luobao Line, which transports about 60 passengers a day, we are trying to cut the intervals to 3 minutes during rush hours," Lin said.

The Metro company had made procurement plans and new trains were expected to be delivered at the beginning of next year.