Line 18 of the

Guangzhou Metro The Guangzhou Metro () ( and ) is the rapid transit system of the city of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province of China. It is operated by the state-owned Guangzhou Metro Corporation and was the fourth metro system to be built in mainland China, af ...

() is a

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...

express line in

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

with trains operating up to . It will run in a south-north direction, connecting Wanqingsha in

Nansha District Nansha District and Nansha New Area is one of 11 urban districts and a state-level new area of the prefecture-level city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, China. It is the home of the present-day port of Guangzhou, as well as ...

, in

Panyu District Panyu, alternately romanized as Punyu, is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, China. It was a separate county-level city before its incorporation into modern Guangzhou in 200 ...

, in

Haizhu District Haizhu District is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, China. Geography Haizhu District is located in the southern part of Guangzhou city. After the adjustment of Guangzhou' ...

, Zhujiang New Town and in

Tianhe District Tianhe District () is one of the eleven districts of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province. In Chinese, the name Tianhe literally means "a river in the sky/heavens", which is also a Chinese name for the Milky Way. It is bordered by Yuexi ...

. The line commenced service on 28 September 2021. Currently, there are train attendants on board each train. In the future, trains will operate fully driverless GoA4 mode when sufficient reliability from the signaling system has been confirmed.

Summary

Phase 1

The line, roughly north-south, connects in

with , with only seven stations in between, , , , , , , . The line is an express subway line using 8-car Type D trains with an operating speed of . This high speed can be sustained especially on the section between Panyu Square and Hengli stations. The service between Wanqingsha and Xiancun was opened on 28 September 2021. There are 2 distinct stopping patterns operating, facilitated by passing loops at select stations, a local all stop service and an express service stopping only at Hengli and Panyu Square. The local service will take only 37 minutes from Wanqingsha to XIancun, and the express service is even shortened by 7 minutes.

North extension

The north extension of Line 18, also known as "Guangzhoudong to Huadu Tiangui intercity" () or "Guanghua intercity" (), will be in length with 7 new stations, to in Huadu District of

. It will be fully underground. At Fangshi Station provisions have been made to allow for Line 18 trains to interline into Line 22 to directly serve

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport is the major airport of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, in Southern China. Both airport codes were inherited from the former Baiyun Airport, and the IATA code is derived from Guangzhou's historical romani ...

. A branch line via allowing for

through service A through service is a concept of passenger transport that involves a vehicle travelling between lines, networks or operators on a regularly specified schedule, on which the passenger can remain on board without alighting. It may be in form of eithe ...

to and from the Guangzhou-Qingyuan Intercity Railway is also under planning.

South extension

An extension is planned that would see the line extended to

Zhongshan Zhongshan (; ) is a prefecture-level city in the south of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province, China. As of the 2020 census, the whole city with 4,418,060 inhabitants is now part of the Guangzhou–Shenzhen conurbation with 65,565,622 i ...

and

Zhuhai Zhuhai (, ; Yale: ''Jyūhói''), also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, on the southeastern edge of Pearl ...

. This extension is also known as "Nansha to Zhuhai (Zhongshan) intercity" () or "Nanzhongzhu intercity" (). Construction on the extension is expected to start before the end of 2021. Since November 2020, the Zhuhai Municipal government is also studying extending Line 18 to connect with the

Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge The Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge (HZMB) is a bridge–tunnel system consisting of a series of three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel, and four artificial islands. It is both the longest sea crossing and the longest open-sea fixe ...

at the Zhuhai-Macao Port artificial island. Additionally, a connection line has been proposed south of Wanqingsha Station, to allow Line 18 to through operate into the

Shenzhen–Dayawan intercity railway The Shenzhen–Dayawan intercity railway (), formerly known as Shenzhen Metro Line 33, is an under construction regional railway connecting Shenzhen and Huiyang District in southern Huizhou, in Guangdong, Guangdong Province, China. Description Th ...

Planning

Line 18 and Line 22 were originally planned as long-term projects, but the desire to promote development of the Nansha Free Trade Zone fast tracked the project for construction. Line 18 will be designed as an express line to provide a rapid transit link between Nansha District and the central urban area of Guangzhou. The planned travel time between Nansha Free Trade Zone and central Guangzhou is proposed to be 30 minutes. The government received a number of requests from the public to increase the number of stations along the line. In particular a station at allowing from interchange with Line 1 and a station at Yuwotou Town. The planners rejected the suggestions to maintain the line's wide stop spacing to allow for the target of 30 minute travel time Nansha and central Guangzhou. Together with the planned Line 26 along Guangzhou Avenue, Line 18 is expected to provide some relief to Line 3.

Opening time

Stations

;Legend: - Opened on 28 September 2021
- Under construction

Rolling Stock

Line 18 uses 8 car Type D urban express trains with a maximum operating speed of , which is currently the fastest subway line in mainland China. The trains are manufactured by

CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd. is one of the electric locomotive manufacturers in China. It is one of the subsidiaries of CRRC. History Predecessor Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Works was founded in 1936. CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co., Ltd. O ...

with the first train was officially delivered on September 25, 2020. Initially upon opening, 15 trains were put into operation. Line 18 is the first line of Guangzhou Metro to introduce different thermostat settings in each car and set up first class cars. In the future, differentiated charges will be implemented to meet the needs of different passengers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guangzhou Metro, Line 18 18 Railway lines opened in 2021 25 kV AC railway electrification