Hangzhou urban planners have created a blueprint for the construction of a major subway system to be completed in the year 2050.

The high speed subway, comprised of eight rails stretching 278 kilometers, is set to link several key cities within the Yangtze River Delta region.

'Compared to subways used in Shanghai and Beijing, our lines will be more efficient and convenient,' said Zheng Xinzhou from the Hangzhou Urban Planning Bureau.

He said two trains will be able to run on a single subway line simultaneously, thus dramatically reducing needed investment.

Such a design will also prevent passengers from having to walk long distances for transfers.

The subway lines will extend from downtown Hangzhou, about 200 kilometers from Shanghai, to a network of transfer hubs on the city's outskirts.

Two of lines - Rail Transport No. 1 and Rail Transport No. 2 - will be completed by the end of 2010, Zheng said.

The No. 1 Line will extend 58 kilometers, running through most of the city's important business and sightseeing venues, including the river banks of the West Lake, Wulin Square and a central downtown business area.

The No. 2 line will cover a distance of 48 kilometers while the planned No. 4 subway line, 15 kilometers long, will connect the Hangzhou East Railway Station with a bus station in the south.

In addition to the massive subway project, the government might build a high-speed train connecting Hangzhou and Shanghai that would reduce travel time to just 27 minutes.

Shanghai Maglev Transportation Development Co is conducting a feasibility study for the train.

According to Urban Express, a Hangzhou newspaper, the company has completed an interim proposal that envisions the maglev to be operational by 2008. Tickets will cost between 130 yuan (US$15) and 150 yuan for a one-way ride, about four times more expensive than a first-class railway trip on existing trains.

Xia Guozhong, a company spokesperson, said the project is still awaiting government approval.

Tan Shuhua, a Shanghai l teacher who has many relatives in Hangzhou, said: 'If the journey can be shortened, that would be wonderful.'

Hangzhou has another project underway - the construction of Hangzhou Bay Bridge, which will be the longest bridge in the world upon its completion in 2008, connecting Cixi and Zhapu, Zhejiang.

The Bay Bridge, which will span 36 kilometers with a price tag of US$1 billion, will facilitate travel from Shanghai to China's southern region.

The Hangzhou Bay New Zone is expected to become one of the most prosperous economies in the Yangtze Delta region as millions of people flow to and fro.

Its well-developed transport system, including modern expressways, airports, ports and railway lines, will help businesses reduce operation costs and improve efficiency, attracting domestic and overseas investors.

According to statistics from the administrative committee of Hangzhou Bay New Zone, there are more than 50,000 industrial and commercial businesses in the new zone. 

2004/03/20
Source: Shanghai Daily news