THE first section of Line 5 of the Fuzhou metro has opened to traffic with three days of free trial journeys.

Running for 22.4km from Jingxi Houyu to Luozhou Ancient Town, the first section of Line 5 serves 17 stations, all underground.

Line 5 is operated with a fleet of CRRC type B trains which have a maximum speed of 80km/h. Production began at the CRRC Tangshan plant in nearby Quanzhou in December 2020, with deliveries to Fuzhou Metro starting in July 2021.

CRRC says that its trains for Fuzhou feature simple internal and external décor, making use of the colour purple to convey “a calm and generous visual impression.”

The cars feature 43in LCD passenger information displays, a wheelchair space and seating made of stainless steel for durability and ease of maintenance.

Passengers can also enjoy full 5G coverage on Line 5, using what CRRC says is the first civilian communications network of its kind in Fujian province.

Fuzhou plans to eventually construct a 338.1km nine-line metro network with 215 stations including 26 interchanges with the aim of increasing rail's share of public transport trips in the city to 30%.

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