In April 2019, Craig Moore reports from Jinan:

Jinan Metro is a 25.9 km (revenue km) single line Metro running in the west of the Shandong capital (30mins drive from central Jinan). From Fangte, the line has a 9.4km north-south underground alignment (4 stations) within the urban area of west Jinan. The busiest stations (West Station – for CRH trains, and Dayang) are located on this stretch. After a tight westward turn and Wangfuzhang station, the line becomes elevated as it heads south-west to the terminus at Gongyanyuan. This section is semi-rural and with average station gaps of 2.4km, it is defiantly not an urban metro. As a result, the route is not particularly well patronised as it only serves peripheral communities. Future construction, however, has a distinctive urban alignment and so overall, the completed network will be very much metro-like. Overall, the ride is noticeably smooth, even on the tight bends and, despite occasional sections of noise reduction tubing, there are some lovely views of the hills to the south and non-urban life in China.

The underground stations have smart entrances with totem, and at West Station, signage around the huge rail facility adequately directs you to the Metro. Here there is a huge open space, as opposed to the more understated ticket halls of the other underground stations, which have the usual rectangular shape, large murals, information office, security, barriers and ticket machines dispensing RFID cards (2-6 yuan) (see below). Ceiling designs differ at each station, and these are replicated at platform level. Platforms are built for six-car trains but only four-car sets operate at the moment. The island platforms have full screens with purple line maps, station locale information, RTI screens and an emaciated looking schematic map. There are large calligraphic and Pinyin station names on the sidewalls of the stairwell. The stations are clean and bright with vivid colours coming from the advertising on the large square support pillars.

If the underground stations are quite standard, the elevated stations are more notable. Entrances have stairs/escalators from the street to the mezzanine ticket hall. Here there are bold coloured patterns on the interior and exterior of the stair walls which provide some interesting colour to the predominant white panelling. The island platforms are very nice, with half screens (including line map), waiting room, and RTI. The roof is a multi-angled dark grey structure with a central band of glass running the length of the platform. This provides light but also each station has different patterns within the glass structures, providing some elements of variation.

The CRRC/Alstom B type stock is powered by overhead supply and uses standard gauge. It has a streamlined frontage and the interior is bright and spacious with side seating and a dynamic strip map above the door. This has rolling information showing the immediate stations, the full line and your carriage in relation to station exits/facilities. An animated character flies on to the screen to provide information of where you are on the line and there are also exterior images of the stations as you arrive.

Wayfinding is to the high standards of China and all information (printed/electronic/audio) is in Chinese and English-Pinyin. The staff are very friendly and helpful and there is hard copy information available at every station. Services run from 0600 to 2130 with 8min base headways. Therefore, using the system is simple, but there is one slight qualification for the overseas visitor… and here, Jinan provides a glimpse of the future. China is now virtually a cashless society with Alipay/Wepay the normal method of transactions. But these e-pay methods depend on access to a Chinese bank account and so there is limited opportunity for international visitors. The Jinan Metro operates a cashless system! The ticket machines require passengers to scan their e-pay account to purchase a ticket – no cash purchases are possible. Whilst other passengers are more than happy to use their account and then you pay them the appropriate amount in cash, it is important to have the correct change as locals simply do not carry cash. It also might be problematic in off-peak periods given low patronage. The other noticeable change here is that some of the barriers are for facial recognition only. The ticket gate has an IPad-sized screen with camera. Passengers walk through and the gate opens once recognised. Asking staff about this, they explained that passengers register and photographed – all fares are then simply deducted from their e-money account. In terms of technology, I always feel I am stepping back 10 years when I return from China to the west – better make that 15 years now!

In summary, although this is an ‘out of the way’ system and certainly not urban, it has notable features, and the finishing is of high quality. It is stylish without any flamboyance, has good headways, interesting views and overall is impressive.