What’s going on with Guangzhou Metro Line 18 or 9 stations?

There is new news about Guangzhou Metro Line 18. Recently, the Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission issued a pre-approval notice on the feasibility study report of the Guangzhou Rail Transit Line 18 project. According to public information, Metro Line 18 starts from Nansha Wanqingsha hub and ends at Guangzhou East Railway Station. It has 9 stations including Wanqingsha, Hengli and Panyu Square.

Public information shows that the Guangzhou Rail Transit Line 18 project starts from Nansha Wanqingsha Hub, passes through Nansha New District, Panyu District, Haizhu District, Tianhe District, and ends at Guangzhou East Station. The full length of the line About 62.7 kilometers long, the entire line is laid underground. There are 9 stations including Wanqingsha, Hengli, Panyu Square, Hezhuang, Shaxi, Shiliugang, Pazhou West District, Xiancun and Guangzhou East Railway Station. A new depot and a parking lot will be set up along the entire line.

According to the announcement, the construction period of this line is 48 months. The construction unit is Guangzhou Metro Group Co., Ltd., with a total investment of approximately 49.3 billion yuan. The project capital accounts for 34% of the total investment, approximately 16.76 billion yuan, and is provided by Guangzhou The municipal government will arrange fiscal funds to solve the problem; parts other than capital funds will be solved through diversified financing methods.

The Provincial Development and Reform Commission stated that the public announcement period is from June 29, 2017 to July 5, 2017. Within five working days after the expiration of the publicity period, citizens, legal persons and other economic organizations may make written statements, pleas, and apply for hearings to the Provincial Development and Reform Commission in accordance with the law if the administrative approval matters directly involve their own major interests or the major interests of themselves and the applicant.

The Guangzhou Municipal Planning Commission responded to the issue of station setting for Metro Line 18.

According to the Guangzhou Urban Rail Transit Phase III Construction Plan (2017-2023) approved by the National Development and Reform Commission, Rail Transit Line 18 is positioned as the Nansha Express Line. The line starts from Guangzhou East Station in the north and ends in the south. Wanqingsha hub has a total length of 62.5 kilometers and 9 stations, with an average station spacing of more than 7 kilometers. In order to achieve the time and space goal of 30-minute direct connection between Guangzhou city center and Nansha sub-center, the line adopts a system with a maximum speed of 160 kilometers per hour. The line direction is as straight as possible and the number of stations along the line is strictly controlled.

The station setting of Metro Line 18 is the issue that citizens are most concerned about. The relevant person in charge of the Municipal Land Planning Commission made it clear that it is impossible to add more stations to the current 9 stations. The line is positioned as an intercity rail , in the future it will also extend to Baiyun Airport in the north and Zhongshan in the south.