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Xi'an, capital of the Shaanxi province, 3.5 million inhabitants

42.1 km, 30 stations

15 Sept 2013: Houweizhai - Fangzhicheng (25.4 km)
26 Sept 2019: Houweizhai - Fenghesenlingongyuan (6.1 km)
21 Sept 2023: Fenghesenlingongyuan - Xianyangxizhan (10.6 km)

33.3 km, 25 stations

Metro line no. 2, which links the new Xi'an North Railway Station to Weiqu in the south, along a straight north-south corridor right through the city centre. It was built 20 m below ground to protect a 13.7 km city wall dating back from the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), a key downtown heritage site. Advanced technologies were used to protect ancient buildings from the impact of vibrations.

16 Sept 2011: Xi'an North Railway Station (Xi'anbeizhan) - Qujiang International Conference and Exhibition Center
16 June 2014: Qujiang International Conference and Exhibition Center - Weiqunan (6 km)
27 June 2023: Xi’anbeizhan – Caotan & Weiqunan – Changninggong (6.9 km);

39.1 km, 26 stations (19 underground)

Line 3 is operated with 41 six-car Type B2 Class DKZ17 trainsets delivered from CRRC Dalian.

08 Nov 2016: Yuhuazhai - Baoshuiqu

35.2 km north-south line

26 Dec 2018: Xi'an North Railway Station (Xi'anbeizhan) - Hangtian Xincheng
25 Sept 2022: + Xi'an Railway Station (Xi'anzhan)

45.5 km east-west line

28 Dec 2020: Chuangxingang - Matengkong (41.6 km)
26 Sept 2024: Matengkong - Yanminghu (3.4 km)

39.6 km southwest-northeast line

28 Dec 2020: Northwestern Polytechnical University – Xi’an Int’l Medical Center (15.6 km)
29 Dec 2022: Northwestern Polytechnical University - Fangzhicheng (19.5 km)
26 Sept 2024: Xi'an Int'l Medical Center - Xi'an South Railway Station (4.5 km)

25.2 km northeastern underground line

28 Dec 2020: Fangzhicheng - Qinlingxi (25.2 km)

26 Sept 2024: Jingshangcun - Zhaohuiguangchang (34.4 km)

Initially the "Airport Intercity Railway" operated by Shaanxi Railway, now integrated into metro line 14 (43 km)

29 Sept 2019: Xi'an North Railway Station (Xi'anbeizhan) - Airport West (T1/T2/T3) (29.3 km)
29 June 2021: Xi'an North Railway Station (Xi'anbeizhan) - Heshao (13.7 km)

Western tangential underground line

27 June 2023: Shijingli – Qinchuangyuanzhongxin (15.1 km)

Automatic elevated people mover in western suburbs

12 Aug 2024: Yuhuazhai – Hengye Dadao (17.2 km)

Xi'an Metro (Official Site)

Xi'an Subway at Wikipedia

In Sept 2018, Craig Moore reports from Xian:

XIAN METRO

Xi’an (Western Peace/Safety) is one of China’s four ancient capitals and, today, is one of the country’s most distinguished cities. After much time in planning and construction, the city finally began Metro operations in 2011 and now hosts a three-line system of 88.9km (77.2km underground). The original two lines form the classic ‘+’ shape of many Chinese metros with the newer Line 3 linking the southwestern and northeastern parts of the city with the centre.

Lines

Opened in 2013 as the second line of the system, Line 1 is fully underground and runs west-east, linking Xianyang City with Xian itself, taking 44mins to travel the 25.0km. In the centre it travels through the ancient city between Yuxiangmen and Chaoyangmen (men = gate). There is transfer to Line 2 at Beidajie and to Line 3 at Tonghuamen. Line 2 runs underground from the busy Xian North Station (Beikezhan) to Weiqunan in the south. This is the busiest line on the system as it travels 26.2km, with a trip taking 47mins. The inaugural line of the metro (2011), it runs along important commercial avenues such as Bei Lu and ChangAn Lu, deep under the historic centre around the Bell Tower, and busy Xiaozhai, where there is transfer to Line 3. Line 3 is Xian’s newest (2016) and longest line at 37.7km. The half-loop route takes 1h05min to traverse and is an important artery running from the southwestern suburb of Yuhuazhai to the northeastern district of Baoshuiqu, passing important pagodas and temples, as well as newer commercial and recreation areas. The line has 11.7km of viaduct running in the northeast, offering some great views around the Bahe waterway.

Stations

Stations are located at main junctions in the grid-structured cityscape. Street entrances are unique in that they have smart arched Perspex entrances framed within structures that mimic ancient construction styles. Ticket halls have long, wall mounted cultural scenes and are hectic places with ticket machines, security, ticket offices, information boards which show locational information and a deficient system map (see below), and stairs/escalators to the platform area. At platform level the station structures again follow the template model used in China with island platforms, full screens, seating and toilets. On Line 1 and 2 the RTI screens do not appear to show the time to the next train but simply ‘destination’ information – this is in Chinese only. The platforms have smart pillars with engraved designs and there are occasional stations with differentiated ceiling designs. The platform screens are unique in that they are a flat blue colour with Line 1 having wood veneer stanchions at the doors and Line 3 having white veneer stanchions. The screen strip maps also have a unique feel with the current location highlighted by the exclusive icon assigned to each station on the system. On walls and the sides of stairwells are large calligraphic and Pinyin station names as well as individual station icons/graphic emblem.

One of the highlights of the system is that this metro uses a unique font as well as each station having an individual icon/emblem, representing a local building or historic event - an attractive touch. In general, the stations are dimly lit and have aged considerably – this is not a surprise given the very high levels of patronage. Transfer is easy, with rudimentary signs at selective points on platforms, and access to alternate lines involves a simple change of level via escalator/stairs to the perpendicular platforms either above or below. Sadly, there are few examples of system maps at platform level and this is an issue at Beijadie (from Line 2 to Line 1), as Line 1 has side platforms and different access points from the Line 2 platform – so, unless familiar with the system, passengers are unsure which Line 1 terminus is east or west and it is a case of negotiating this very busy station, heading to ticket hall level to examine the map (Chinese only) to identify/memorise the Chinese characters (or try to!). As is the norm in provincial China, platform staff are humble, sweet and try to help but there is often a language barrier here. Line 3 stations have brighter, fresher platform areas given their younger age and the seven elevated stations in the north have a mix of side and island platforms with blue arched canopy roofs, half screens and more useful RTI screens (showing next three trains). These screens are flat to the horizontal bands above the platform edge that also show the strip map (clearer on a white background than on the blue of the underground stations). The ticket hall beneath the platforms have interesting ceiling features but essentially have standard Chinese layouts with multiple banks of ticket gates and security barriers.

Trains

All lines run 4min base headways (0600-2315), although Line 3 services north of Xianghuwan offer lower frequencies to the northern terminal of Baoshuiqu. Six-car B type CNR (Dalian) stock operate across the system. Externally, these have metallic sides and white frontage with line colour strips at the base and along the front. On the doors the colour band becomes the wonderful logo which represents the structure of the substantial city walls. The train interiors (Line 1 and 2) appear to be dimly lit, not helped by the heavy coloured flooring related to line colour. There are electronic strip maps (Chinese/Pinyin) and occasional schematic maps which, as a much smaller representation of the larger complex map (see below), are of little use, but audio information is in English.

Tickets and Mappage/Information

Ticket machines are plentiful and are easy to use, issuing lovely illustrative card tickets. These cost 2-7 Yuan depending on distance travelled, but the Xian Metro is also one of the few systems in China to offer 24hr or 72hr tickets (15 Yuan/40Yuan respectively), and for visitors wanting to access many of the historic buildings and museums in this city, such a pass is a worthwhile investment (Note: these are available from the ticket offices and not from the machines). There is no hard-copy information available, despite many stations accommodating dedicated service/information centres, and given the map quality, it would likely be of little use anyway. This map is in Chinese only and is a cluttered, unstylish specimen with street names and topographic information also shown. As such, the actual metro lines get lost in the fight for space on the map and, for non-Chinese readers, this is an inadequate tool for wayfinding.

In summary, the Xian Metro does have some unique features (Entrance buildings/Station Icons etc.), and it offers good coverage and intensive service levels…..but it is a little grubby, with flat, dim platforms, average wayfinding and a truly inadequate map. Negotiating the system can be a little problematic and the Xian Metro does not fare well in comparison to the generally excellent wayfinding and bright shininess of many of China’s Metros - a pity in such a celebrated city as Xian.