Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    SHENZHEN Metro Lines 7 and 9 will begin service at noon Friday, bringing the city’s total underground rail network to 285 kilometers.

    The opening of the 55-km rail line marks the completion of the city’s rail network around a backbone of eight lines. For the first time, Huanggang Checkpoint, Shenzhen Safari Park, the Taoyuancun housing estate and the Bagualing area will have Metro service, benefiting around 100,000 people along the two lines.

    Shenzhen Metro Group estimates that the two lines will serve 700,000 passengers a day. The whole network will serve 4.5 million passengers daily, accounting for 40 percent of the riders using the public transport system.

    Fare for an end-to-end trip on the 30.5-km Line 7 costs 7 yuan (US$1). Line 7 starts from Xili Lake in Nanshan and ends at Tai’an in Luohu. It has 28 stations including 10 interchange stations, and the whole trip takes 55 minutes. The 25-km Line 9 starts from Hongshuwan in Nanshan and ends at Wenjin in Luohu. The whole trip takes 45 minutes and costs 6 yuan.

    During the initial stage, trains will operate at 10-minute intervals between 6:30 a.m. and 11 p.m.

    The opening of the two lines moves Shenzhen to third in China in terms of network rail length, behind Beijing and Shanghai.