WITH a huge explosion, construction work on the largest depot at a Metro station in Shenzhen started Wednesday morning. The depot is located in Shekou, Nanshan District and will be finished by 2022.

Next to Shekou wharf, the depot will serve as a parking facility for the carriages running on Metro Line 12. Covering an area of 24.1 hectares, the total size of the depot is equivalent to 34 soccer fields.

Staffers at the Metro station will also clean and conduct routine maintenance and checks of the trains in the depot.

Metro Line 12, which will have 33 stations and link Shekou with Shajing, is the only line that passes through populated areas in Bao’an District, and many residents in Bao’an have been paying close attention to the progress of the line that is expected to be put into trial operation in 2022.

“Metro Line 12 will go through commercial areas with dense populations in Bao’an District and is expected to bring vitality to the old-town areas in Bao’an,” said a person in charge from Shenzhen Metro Group.

(Zhang Qian)