Suzhou Rail Transit

Suzhou Metro
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	蘇州軌道交通
Simplified Chinese	苏州轨道交通
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Sūzhōu Guǐdào Jiāotōng
Overview
Locale	Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
Transit type	Rapid transit
Number of lines	6 (in operation)
Number of stations	196
Daily ridership	1,911,000 (1 January 2021 record)
Annual ridership	410 million (2021)[1]
Website	http://www.sz-mtr.com/ (Chinese)
Operation
Began operation	April 28, 2012; 12 years ago (2012-04-28)
Technical
System length	249.47 kilometres (155.01 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	1.5 kV Overhead Wire
System map

Suzhou Rail Transit, also known as Suzhou Metro, is a rapid transit system serving the city of Suzhou, in Jiangsu Province, China. Line 1 began operation on April 28, 2012.^[2] Line 2 opened on December 28, 2013. A further three lines, and an extension of Line 2, were completed between 2016 and 2021.^[3][4] Line 11 connecting Kunshan city which is under Suzhou's administration, and beyond to the Shanghai Metro was completed on June 24, 2023.^[5][6][7]

Daily ridership increased from 680,000 (2017 average)^[8] to 899,000 (2018 average) to 995,000 (2019 average). Record ridership increased from 1,130,000 (30 April 2017)^[9] to 1,548,000 (2 May 2019 record).

Lines

Line 1

Line 1 opened on April 28, 2012.^[2] It is a line running generally east–west, from Mudu station in western Suzhou to Zhongnan Jie station in Suzhou Industrial Park.^[3][10] It is 25 km (16 mi) long with 24 stations.

Construction on Line 1 began on December 26, 2007, and was completed by 2012. On December 30, 2011, the first 21 cars for Line 1 have been delivered.^[11]

Line 2

Line 2 opened on December 28, 2013. It is a line running generally north–south, from Suzhou North Railway Station in north Xiangcheng District to Baodaiqiao South station close to Precious Belt Bridge located in Wuzhong District.

Construction on Line 2 began on December 25, 2009, and was completed by early 2013. On December 28, 2013, line 2 started service and became a part of Suzhou Rail Transit system. The new 13 stations were opened on September 24, 2016.

Line 3

Line 3 started trial operations from December 6 to December 10, 2019^[12] and officially started operation on December 25, 2019.^[13] Line 3 got approval to start construction on January 20, 2012. The line is an east–west line, leading from Suzhou Xinqu Railway Station to Weiting. There will be through service between Line 3 and Line 11 of Suzhou Rail Transit in late 2023.

Line 4

Line 4 started trial operations on April 14, 2017.^[14] The line starts in the north of Suzhou, west of Line 2. Its main line leads from Longdaobang to Tongli in the south/south east of Suzhou. After reaching Suzhou railway station, it approximately follows Renmin road and Dongwubei road reaching further south until Tongli in Wujiang District. The Southwest Branch of Line 4 is the first phase of the future Line 7. This branch is supposed to follow the same path as the main line until Hongzhuang, then turning into south western direction leading to Youxiang Road.

Line 5

Line 5 opened on 29 June 2021 and runs from Taihu Xiangshan to Yangchenghu South.

Line 11

Line 11 (formerly Line S1) is an east west intercity rapid transit line of Suzhou Rail Transit. It opened on 24 June 2023. It serves Kunshan City and connects to the Shanghai Metro, with the terminal station of Huaqiao also being an interchange station where passengers can interchange to Line 11 of the Shanghai Metro. There is also through service between Line 3 and Line 11 of Suzhou Rail Transit. It is the first line in Mainland China to use Unattended Train Operation (UTO) (GoA4).^[15]

Lines under construction

Line 6

Line 7

Line 7 is an east–west line of Suzhou Rail Transit. Construction started on December 25, 2019.^[18] It is scheduled to open in December 2024.^[18]

Line 8

Line 8 is 35.5 km in length with 28 stations. It is scheduled to open in September 2024.^[16]

Line 10

Line 10 is a north south express regional rapid transit line of Suzhou Rail Transit. The first section connecting the northern neighboring cities of Zhangjiagang and Changshu.^[19] The line was formerly known as Line S5.

Fares and tickets

The base fare of Suzhou Rail Transit is 2 yuan (US$0.33) for journeys under 6 km (3.7 mi), then 1 yuan for each 5 km (3.1 mi) between 6–16 km (3.7–9.9 mi), 1 yuan for each 7 km (4.3 mi) between 16 and 30 km (9.9 and 18.6 mi), 1 yuan for 9 km (5.6 mi) more than 30 km (18.6 mi). As September 24, 2016, the highest fare is 8 yuan (US$1.33).

Users of the Suzhou Tong get a 5% discount for every journey.

Gallery

• 
  A station on Line 1
• 
  A station on Line 2
• 
  Shihu Road station under construction
• 
  Preparation for a construction site between Heshan Road and Huashan Road stations of Line 3

Network Map

See also

• List of Suzhou Rail Transit stations
• Suzhou Tram
• Suzhou BRT
• List of metro systems

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Suzhou Rail Transit.