Han Ximin, Yao Jiahui

    ximhan@126.com

    SHENZHEN Metro Group will begin offering night train service on Line 11 starting Sunday, especially for those air passengers arriving in Shenzhen after 11 p.m.

    Two or three trains will be added to the line and they will operate at 10-17 minute intervals.

    The move is to meet the surging demand of air passengers using the Metro service.

    Nearly six months after opening, Line 11 now handles about 250,000 passengers a day and around 30,000 people use the Airport Station a day.

    “The final night train will depart from Futian Station at 11:30 p.m. and from Bitou Station at 11:34 p.m. Air passengers arriving at Airport Station at around midnight will still be able to use the Metro service to Nanshan, Futian, Songgang and Shajing,” said Cheng Feixing, head of Line 11’s Airport Station, during an interview Thursday.

    Starting Saturday, the train intervals of Line 11 will be shortened to seven minutes and 50 seconds.

    During rush hours, the intervals for trains to Futian Station in the morning, and to Bitou Station in the evening, will be shortened to five minutes.

    The change in the operation schedule will increase Line 11’s passenger handling capacity by 9 percent during rush hour.

    The number of daily riders has increased to the present 250,000 from the initial 150,000 when it was put into service six months ago.