The 21.7km line runs from Yili Health Valley to Bayan Airport, running in tunnel for much of its length beneath the city centre. The line has 20 stations and serves Hohhot East railway station.
The line was developed as a public-private partnership (PPP) under the second batch of demonstration projects by the Chinese Ministry of Finance and was built in cooperation with China Railway Group. The project is estimated to cost Yuan 17.06bn ($US 2.45bn).
The line is served by a fleet of six-car 80km/h metro trains built by CRRC Changke Railway Vehicles. Each train is formed of four powered vehicles and two trailers and can accommodate up to 2068 passengers.
CRRC says the train features the lightest aluminium alloy bodyshell of any metro train in China with a weight saving of 10 tonnes across each six-car set. In addition, each car is equipped with a single air-conditioning unit, which has been configured specifically for the Inner Mongolian climate, another first for China. The air-conditioning level is adjustable according to passenger loading, which according to CRRC will improve comfort and reduce energy consumption by up to 20%.
Passengers using the service can access mobile QR code ticketing via the Hohhot Metro App.
Construction is underway on a second 27.3km north-south metro line, which runs entirely underground with 24 stations in a L-shape from Talidong in the north to Aershan Road in the south. Track laying on the project was 98% complete in December and the line is slated to open later this year. The cost of the project is estimated at Yuan 20.3bn.
Hohhot is the 38th Chinese city to open a metro.
For detailed data on rail projects from around the world, subscribe to IRJ Pro.
