The first city of the subway has changed hands, who still has the hope of "getting on the train"

Every reporter: Dan Zhongkui Every editor: Liu Yanmei

Recently, the construction of urban rail transit has been climaxing. Since December last year, more than 14 metro projects have been put into operation across the country.

On December 30, with the launch of the three lines of the Beijing subway, its subway operating mileage reached 836 kilometers, surpassing Shanghai in one fell swoop, and regaining the throne of "the first city of the subway" after many years.

At present, Beijing and Shanghai are impacting the "1000km club". In addition to the peak showdown in Beijing and Shanghai, the rail transit mileage of more super and mega cities is still being extended. As of 2023, with Chongqing's breakthrough, the number of "500km clubs" has been expanded to 8, Chengdu has surpassed Shenzhen, Wuhan has surpassed Hangzhou, Chongqing has surpassed Nanjing, and Zhengzhou has surpassed Qingdao.

What is more striking is that in the era of metropolitan areas, the construction of cross-city subways with the central city as the core is becoming more and more common, which also provides another possibility for more small and medium-sized cities to realize the "subway dream". For example, the Zhengxu Line, which has just been opened, has allowed Xuchang to enter the "subway era", and the third phase of Xi'an Metro Line 1 has allowed Xianyang to catch the subway express...... In the future, which other cities are expected to realize their dreams?

Beijing and Shanghai "Peak Showdown"

The northern section of Metro Line 17, the remaining section of Line 16, and the remaining section of the western section of Line 11...... On the first day of the New Year's Day holiday, Beijing ushered in three subways in one day, successfully topping the "first subway city" in the country.

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For Beijing, this is a kind of regression.

Back in October 1969, the first phase of the Beijing subway project was opened to traffic, becoming the first city in China to open a subway. It was only 24 years later that the Shanghai Metro achieved a breakthrough of zero with the 6.6-kilometer Metro Line 1. Since then, the two cities have taken advantage of the opportunity to host national competitions or exhibitions to compete fiercely on the "track".

According to public information, when Beijing successfully bid for the Olympic Games in 2001, there were only two subway lines, and the operating mileage was only 54 kilometers. In the year of the 2008 Olympic Games, there were 8 subway lines in Beijing, with an operating mileage of 200 kilometers. Taking the opportunity of preparing for the Olympic Games, the construction of the Beijing subway has entered an explosive period.

Shanghai is similar. In 2002, Shanghai won the right to host the 2010 World Expo, and since the venue is located in the center of the city and lasts for more than 180 days, the city's transportation has naturally become a top priority.

"According to calculations at the time, the subway had to bear 40% of the traffic volume to ensure the normal operation of the World Expo every day. In 2004, Shanghai set a target of building a 400-kilometer rail transit network before the World Expo. At that time, there were only 4 subway lines with less than 100 kilometers in the city. Ying Minghong, then deputy commander-in-chief of the Shanghai Rail Transit Construction Headquarters, previously recalled.

From 2004 to 2009, the construction of the Shanghai Metro was completed with an investment of nearly 150 billion yuan, and the length of the newly built lines reached 330 kilometers and 205 stations. By the end of 2013, the operating mileage of the Shanghai Metro had increased to 567 kilometers, becoming the world's largest metro for the first time.

In the past decade, Shanghai's urban rail mileage has exceeded 800 kilometers, and the network scale continues to lead the world, and only now has it been surpassed by Beijing.

Sun Zhang, a professor at the Institute of Railway and Urban Rail Transit at Tongji University, observed that Shanghai's rail transit construction is being adjusted. He pointed out that Shanghai used to develop subways, but the cost of subways is high, and most of them are underground, while most of the urban railways can be walked on elevated highways or even on the ground after leaving the city center, and the construction cost has been greatly reduced.

Shanghai has proposed to achieve "three 1,000 kilometers" by 2035 - 1,000 kilometers of subway, 1,000 kilometers of urban railways, and 1,000 kilometers of intercity railways.

In contrast, Beijing, which is also aiming for the "1,000 kilometers" goal, seems to be progressing faster in subway construction. According to the "Major Infrastructure Development Plan for the 14th Five-Year Plan Period of Beijing" released in early 2022, the total mileage of urban rail transit in Beijing will strive to reach 1,000 kilometers by 2025. This also means that Beijing is expected to continue to maintain its lead for some time to come.

Expansion of the "500 km Club".

In addition to the competition on the Beijing-Shanghai track, the competition between the "500 km club" cities is also becoming more and more intense.

Not long ago, Chongqing Rail Transit Line 18, with a total length of 29 kilometers and crossing four districts and two rivers, was officially opened for trial operation, announcing that the first three phases of rail transit in the city were all completed and put into use.

By the end of 2023, Chongqing's urban rail transit mileage has reached 538 kilometers, surpassing Nanjing (459.66 kilometers), Wuhan (530.21 kilometers) and Hangzhou (516 kilometers) in succession, and advancing to the sixth city of rail transit in China. At the same time, the operating mileage of Chengdu's urban rail transit reached 601.7 kilometers, once again surpassing Shenzhen and returning to the position of "fourth city".

With Chongqing's promotion, the "500km Club" has been expanded to 8 seats. Beijing and Shanghai lead the way on the 800-kilometer track, Guangzhou and Chengdu are in the 600-kilometer stage, while Shenzhen, Chongqing, Wuhan and Hangzhou compete fiercely in the 500-kilometer stage. In addition, Nanjing, which is closely behind, is also about to become the next "game-breaker".

According to Xinhua Daily, there are currently 27 subway lines under construction in Jiangsu Province, with a total mileage of about 657 kilometers. Among them, there are 11 in Nanjing, with a total mileage of about 211 kilometers under construction. Among them, Line 5 and Line 6 are more than 30 kilometers long, passing through multiple administrative regions, and the first phase of Line 9, which is 19.7 kilometers, is under construction, with a total length of 36.5 kilometers. They all belong to the backbone line, which will support Nanjing to continue to compete for the first place.

In addition, Xi'an, Zhengzhou and other cities have an operating mileage of more than 300 kilometers, becoming strong contenders for the promotion of the "500 kilometers club".

For example, just entering 2024, the preliminary plan for the fourth phase of Xi'an Metro has been unveiled. On January 3, the official website of Xi'an Metro released relevant EIA publicity information, showing that the preliminary plan of the fourth phase of Xi'an urban rail transit construction plan (2024-2029) includes six projects, the second phase of Line 3, the first phase of Line 7, the first phase of Line 11, the first phase of Line 12, the second phase of Line 16, and the first phase of Line 21.

At the end of last year, the Xi'an Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau also revealed that Xi'an will speed up the preparation and review of the fourth phase of rail transit construction planning, and strive to start all four phases of construction projects by the end of 2024.

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As the last round of approved subway construction gradually comes to an end, a new round of intensive declaration and construction cycle is gradually coming. Since 2023, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has approved a new round of subway plans in Shenzhen, Beijing and other places, and at least 30 cities are carrying out a new round of subway construction plans for approval or preliminary work. This will also further rewrite the strength pattern of the "500km club".

Of course, 500 kilometers is not the end of urban rail transit construction. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, in addition to Beijing, which has set its sights on 1,000 kilometers, Shanghai and Guangzhou will target 960 kilometers and 900 kilometers of urban rail operation in 2025, and Wuhan (including under construction), Chengdu (including under construction) and Shenzhen will reach 1,100 kilometers, 850 kilometers and 640 kilometers respectively. At the same time, like Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Shenzhen are also more than 1,000 kilometers away.

Which urban curves "come true"

The subway is like an artery of urban development. It not only provides convenience for transportation, but also reshapes the urban population and economic distribution to a large extent. As a major starting point to stimulate investment, the Urban Rail Transit Association previously estimated that the national urban rail transit plan will complete an investment of about 435.8 billion yuan and a vehicle investment of 19 billion yuan in 2023.

This is also an important reason why the subway declaration in various places is heating up. However, on the other hand, in the context of increasing financial pressure and tightening rail transit construction policies, ordinary prefecture-level cities such as Yantai, Baotou and Weifang are still facing many obstacles.

However, with the acceleration of the "metropolitan area on the track", more and more cross-city subways have made it possible for some small and medium-sized cities to realize the "subway dream". Since 2023 alone-

In June, Suzhou Rail Transit Line 11 was opened, realizing the seamless connection between Suzhou Metro and Shanghai Metro, and by the way, the subway was repaired to the doorstep of Kunshan, the first economically strong county;

Almost at the same time, the first phase of the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan Intercity Rail Transit West Ring Line was put into operation, shortening the commuting time between Changsha and Xiangtan to about 20 minutes;

In September, the third phase of Xi'an Metro Line 1 was put into operation, becoming the first subway line connecting the main urban areas of the two cities in Northwest China, fulfilling Xianyang's "subway dream".

In December, the Zhengzhou-Xuzhou Municipal Railway was officially opened, becoming the first urban rail transit line in the Zhengzhou metropolitan area and even the Central Plains urban agglomeration, and Xuchang had the first subway line......

There are also many cross-city subways under construction or planning.

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The Yangtze River Delta is the most densely populated area of cross-city subways in the country, and Nanjing has performed particularly positively. In December 2021, Nanjing's first cross-city subway, Nanju Intercity, was officially opened, bringing Zhenjiang into the subway era. At present, there are 11 urban rail projects under construction in Nanjing, including 3 urban lines - Ningma Line, Ningchu Line and Ningyang Line. This means that Nanjing will also help Ma'anshan, Chuzhou, and Yangzhou to connect to the subway.

In addition, the construction of a municipal railway (subway) between Beijing, Langfang and Baoding, the first cross-city rail transit line in Chengdu, the Ziyang Rail Transit Line, is expected to open in 2024, and the cross-city subway between Qingdao and Yantai, Rizhao and Weifang is also beginning to see the light of day......

There is a view that in recent years, cross-city subway construction has become more and more common, to a certain extent, related to the inability of some ordinary cities to rely on their own strength to obtain subway construction qualifications.

In Sun Zhang's view, from the perspective of operational efficiency and circulation efficiency, rail transit construction planning needs to be considered as a whole and grasp the different functional positioning of four levels (high-speed rail-intercity-city-subway). "Like Shanghai and Suzhou, high-speed rail and intercity railways are already very developed, and extending urban rail can meet more diversified needs. ”

National Business Daily