Yesterday, 28 June, saw a significant milestone reached in the construction of the Nanjing Metro network. Wait a second; shouldn’t that be the Chuzhou Metro network? It’s got even us geeks crazy about trains confused. So let’s clarify…
With an interior colour scheme that leaves much to be desired (the exterior is cool; it’s a phoenix), Nanjing Metro Line S4 began carrying fare-paying passengers yesterday at 10:00. Except it’s not in Nanjing.
Line S4 is the link with Chuzhou City of Anhui Province, which lies to the northwest of Nanjing. We might call it Nanjing Metro Line S4 or the Ningchu Line (宁滁线), while our comrades over in Anhui would likely prefer the alternative moniker, the Chuzhou-Nanjing Intercity Railway (滁宁城际铁路).
So what’s it doing claiming to be part of the Nanjing Metro network?
Well, the completion of the actual Line back in August, 2022, marked a breakthrough in the construction of the very first trans-provincial intercity metro line in all of China.
That statement, however, is only true on account of a technicality. The Shanghai Metro already extends across the border into Jiangsu Province, to Kunshan in Suzhou. But Shanghai is not a province; it’s one of China’s four municipalities, so the argument still holds water.
That’s by the by, for that opened yesterday was only the section of the line in Chuzhou. It doesn’t make it to Nanjing, yet; this is where our patience comes in. It’s going to be quite a wait; 3 more years at least.
For that, we need to thank the fact the Line’s eastern terminus is Nanjing North Railway Station, preparation work for which has barely begun.
But that’s putting a dampener on the opening, for which there is much to celebrate. Line S4 is unique [in Nanjing] in having both latitudinal and longitudinal seating. The former is equipped with USB charging points, while wireless-charging points are installed elsewhere.
Then there is the fact that each window is equipped with pull-down curtains, offering shade from the sun; they’ve even put a rubbish bin in each carriage.
The entire Line S4 is 55.35 kilometres in length, with 17 stations in total, 15 of which are in Chuzhou and the other two in Nanjing. One day.
So while yesterday heralded the Nanjing Metro network expanding to 13 lines and a total length of 498.66 kilometres, it appears we will have to wait until 2026 to really call it our own.