Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    HUNDREDS of residents gathered in Metro Line 11 stations one hour before the official opening of the line at 11:18 a.m. yesterday to board the train for the maiden trip, which gave riders a picturesque sea view.

    At the Futian Station in Futian CBD, the starting point of the trip, a local resident surnamed Xia said he had waited for more than half an hour before the sale of tickets started at 11 a.m.

    “Earlier this morning I took Line 1 to get medical treatment in Luohu District and I want to take Line 11 back home,” said Xia, who lives in Shajing Subdistrict, Bao’an District.

    “Line 11 runs faster and what is important is that it is a maiden ride,” Xia said.

    Another resident surnamed Deng told Shenzhen Daily that he had hoped the line could have been opened two years ago when the new terminal T3 of Shenzhen International Airport was put into operation at the end of 2013.

    “This line has been long anticipated as it links the airport with Nanshan and Futian CBDs,” Deng said.

    Line 11, also known as the airport express line, has a maximum speed of 120 kilometer per hour and an average speed of 65 km per hour. The trip from Futian CBD to the airport takes 29 minutes.

    The opening of the 51.9-kilometer line from Futian CBD to Songgang in Bao’an District, via Nanshan District and the airport, brings the total length of the city’s Metro network to 230 kilometers. It links the city’s eight areas including Chegongmiao, OCT Bay, Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters Base, Houhai, Nanshan CBD, Qianhai and the airport.

    As a key project of the Phase III Metro network construction in Shenzhen, Line 11 cost 31.3 billion yuan (US$4.6 billion) and took more than four years to be completed.

    Metro Line 11 operates between 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. at 10-minute intervals.

    “We will gradually shorten intervals as passengers increase. In the future, the interval will be shortened to 2 minutes and 30 seconds,” Zhang Zhongan, chief designer with the Construction Headquarters of Shenzhen Metro Group, said in an interview yesterday, after the launch ceremony.

    By 6 p.m. yesterday, nearly 44,000 people took the new line. During the period, the Chegongmiao Station recorded the largest passenger flow, followed by the Airport Station, Shajing Station, Nanshan Station and Songgang Station, according to the Metro company. (Special report on P3)