Tianshui Tram

Tianshui Tram is a light rail system consisting of one route in Qinzhou District and Maiji District, Tianshui, Gansu, China.

History

Construction started on July 15, 2018 and testing started in March 2019 on a 600 meter long test section. The total investment for the project is estimated at 2.446 billion Yuan. The first phase started commercial operation on May 1, 2020.

In 2024 it was reported that the single completed tram line operates at a huge loss, having a CNY 16 million annual passenger revenue while having a CNY 40 million annual operating cost. The tram project's financial burden on the city's finances have led to construction of phase 2 of the first line to be delayed.

Background

Public transport in Tianshui is almost solely serviced by bus routes. The Tianshui Tram will be the first rail transport in Tianshui for local transit. Due to the spatial layout of Tianshui in an east-west river valley, all planned lines will roughly follow the river. Tianshui government chose China Railway Signal & Communication (CRSC) to develop the tram line under a design-build-operate contract. The system will be the first revenue service of CRSC's new tram subsidiary, and will also function as a demonstration of their technology.

Lines

There are 3 lines planned, of which as of 2019, only phase 1 on Line 1 has been built. Line 1 has been opened on May 1, 2020.

Line 1 consists of a main line from Jiekou Town to Economic Development Zone, and a branch line from Yangpodong to Tianshui Railway Station. Among them, the main line (Jiekou Town to Economic Development Zone) is a main rail transit line in Tianshui City that crosses the east-west main urban area, connecting the main urban areas of Qinzhou and Maiji districts, while taking into account the main towns and economic development zones around the main urban area.

Line 2 is a north-south line connecting Qinzhou District and Sanyangchuan. It mainly undertakes passenger transportation tasks in the main urban area of Tianshui City and Sanyangchuan New Area, while taking into account the role of public transportation in Sanyangchuan New Town.

Line 3 is a north-south line connecting Maiji District and Maijishan Scenic Area.

Recently, Line 1 Phase 2, including Tianshuisanzhong (Tianshui No. 3 Middle School) to Wulipu section, and Yangpodong to Yingchuanhekou section is under construction. There is also the section from Yingchuanhekou to Maijishan Grottoes on Line 3.

Line 1

;Phase 1
The first phase of Line 1, and the only part of the tram network currently built, runs from Wulipu in Qinzhou District to Tianshui Railway Station, in Maiji District. The tram tracks follow the Jie River, and further along, the Wei River closely for the entire length and are built on a man-made raised riverbank. When fully completed, Line 1 will be long, and service 17 stations. Phase 1 of Line 1 was constructed by China Railway Signal & Communication Guizhou Construction Company and has no at-grade road intersections. The commercial operation commenced on May 1, 2020.

;Phase 2
Phase 2 was originally planned to start construction in October 2019, this was later revised to November 2020 with a construction period of three years and a budget of CNY6.547 billion (US$990 million). The second phase of Line 1 will be built simultaneously with the Line 2, as a west extension and an east extension branch line. In total the new sections will measure and have 19 stops, creating a tram network of .

The west extension is planned to deviate from the riverbank, passing through the commercial centre of Qinzhou District, terminating at Sanzhong (Tianshui No.3 Middle School).

;Station list

;Service
Trams run every 10 minutes during peak-hours and every 15 minutes during regular hours.

Line 2

Line 2 is planned to split from Line 1 halfway, immediately crossing the Jie River, and servicing Tianshui South railway station, then continuing through the southeast part of the built-up area in Maiji District, on the south bank of the Wei River and Jie River. The line will total and service 17 stations. Construction started with phase 2 of the Line 1. The east extension branch (Line 2) will run from Yangpodong to Yingchuan Hekou.

Line 3

Line 3 will be long and service 10 stations on the south bank of the Jie River in Qinzhou District.

Rolling stock

The rolling stock on Line 1 is constructed by China Railway Signal & Communication Vehicle Company in Changsha. The trams use supercapacitors combined with batteries, instead of overhead lines, and are charged only at stops. The trams are fully low floor, have a maximum speed of and have 58 seats, and a total carrying capacity of 370 persons. Each tramset consists of five short wheelbase carriages. It is the first implementation of CRSC's new low-floor trams.

The trams are nicknamed "Boyue" (伯约), the courtesy name of Jiang Wei, a military general from the historical Three Kingdoms period who grew up in Tianshui and was the last disciple of Zhuge Liang and the last defender of Shu Han