Binhai Mass Transit - History

History

Tianjin, as an inland harbor of China, has long been a major commercial city. After the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, the number of vehicles on the roads significantly increased, causing pollution. To overcome these problems, the transport authority decided to close the old tram network and switch over to a rapid transit system.

However, due to economic costs, it was not until 1970 that construction of the system first took place. The first section, spanning 3.6 km of track and 4 stations, namely Xinhualu, Yingkoudao, Anshandao and Haiguangsi stations, was completed by February 1976. The second section, with an additional 1.6 km of track and the Xinanjiao and Erweilu stations, was completed by 1980. After construction resumed, the total length was 7.4 km, with 8 stations, and service on the line began on December 28, 1984.

To reduce construction costs, the transport authority decided to use an abandoned canal bed to form part of the system, and did not dig deeply. By using the canal bed, the underground section is only 2–3 meters under the street surface, and was the world's shallowest metro. There were only 1,000 full-time construction workers at that time; the others were volunteers from factories, schools and institutions all over the city. The average number of volunteer workers exceeded 2,000 a day, which rendered the project unique in the world then. Construction was delayed in 1976 when an earthquake hit the city, but was resumed in 1979 and completed by 1984.

At the end of 1990s, it was observed that the Metro system was quite out of date. The atmosphere of the stations was uninviting, difficult to navigate, and with few passenger amenities on the platforms. Trains were infrequent, sporadic and commonly delayed. The trains themselves were dilapidated, seat covers often torn off, and dim. Taking into consideration more modern, cleaner systems in East Asia, a massive reconstruction, modernization and expansion plan was laid out in 2000. In preparation, the system was closed on 1 September 2001, with renovation fully starting on 21 November. After purchasing new rolling stock, adding half-height platform screen doors and extending the line up to Shuanglin, the line re-opened on 6 December 2006 as Line 1, after trial testing that began on 12 June of that year.

During the renovation of the first line, other lines underwent construction. Line 9, operated by Binhai Mass Transit Development Co. Ltd, began construction in 2001 and its first section opened on 28 March 2004. Between 2004 and 2007, many new stations on the line opened successively. On 1 May 2011, the line was further extended westwards by 3 stations, bringing it to its current length of 52.8 km. The Tram line in the system, the TEDA Modern Guided Rail Tram, was built to serve the Tianjin Economic Development Area and was opened on 10 May 2007. Line 2, after a lengthy construction delay and a structural accident, finally opened, as two separate sections, to the public on 1 July 2012.