Hangzhou - Transportation

Transportation

High speed rail line in Hangzhou Hangzhou city bus bicyles for rent

Hangzhou is served by the Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, which provides direct service to many international destinations such as Germany, Thailand, Australia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, India, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Singapore, and the Netherlands. Regional routes reach Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. It has an extensive domestic route network within the PRC and is consistently ranked top 10 in passenger traffic among Chinese airports. Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport has two terminals, namely Terminal A and Terminal B. The smaller Terminal A serves all international and regional flights while the bigger Terminal B solely handles domestic traffic. The airport is located just outside the city in the Xiaoshan District with direct bus service linking the airport with Downtown Hangzhou. The ambitious expansion project will see the addition of a second runway and a third terminal which will dramatically increase capacity of the fast-growing airport that serves as a secondary hub of Air China. A new elevated airport express highway is under construction on top of the existing highway between the airport and downtown Hangzhou. The second phase of Hangzhou Metro Line 1 has a planned extension to the airport.

Hangzhou sits on the intersecting point of some of the busiest rail corridors in China. The city's main station is Hangzhou Railway Station (colloquially the "City Station" 城站). There are frequent departures for Shanghai with approximately 20-minute headways from 6:00 to 21:00. Non-stop CRH high speed service between Hangzhou and Shanghai takes 45 minutes and leaves every hour (excluding a few early morning/late night departures) from both directions. While other CRH high speed trains that stop at one or more stations along the route complete the trip in 59 to 75 minutes. Most other major cities in China can also be reached by direct train service from Hangzhou. The Hangzhou East Railway Station (colloquially "East Station" 东站), is closed for renovation until late 2011. Once completed, it will become one of the biggest rail traffic hubs in China consisting of 15 platforms that will house the High Speed CRH service to and from Shanghai, Nanjing, Changsha, Ningbo, and beyond. The subway station beneath the rail compex building is a stop along the Hangzhou Metro Line 1.

Direct trains link Hangzhou with more than 20 cities, including 4 daily services to Beijing (1650 km), more than 45 daily services to Shanghai (200 km) and it reaches as far as Ürümqi. The Shanghai–Hangzhou High-Speed Railway service inaugurated on October 26, 2010. The service is operated by the CRH 380A and CRH 380BL train sets which travel at a maximum speed of 350 km/h, shortening the duration of the 202 km trip to only 45 minutes.

The construction of the Shanghai-Hangzhou Maglev Train Line has been debated for several years. On August 18, 2008 Beijing Authorities gave the project the go-ahead to start construction in 2010. Transrapid has been contracted to construct the line. However, as of 2011 construction has not yet started.

Central, north, south and west long-distance bus stations offer frequent coach service to nearby cities/towns within Zhejiang province, as well as surrounding provinces.

Hangzhou has an efficient public transportation network, consisting of a modern fleet of regular diesel bus, trolley bus, hybrid diesel-electric bus and taxi. The first subway line is expected to enter into service by October 1, 2012. Hangzhou is known for its extensive Bus Rapid Transit network expanding from downtown to many suburban areas through dedicated bus lanes on some of the busiest streets in the city. Bicycles and electric scooters are very popular and major streets have dedicated bike lanes throughout the city. Hangzhou has an extensive free public bike rental system.

Taxis are also very popular in the city. With its line of the newest Hyundai Sonatas and Volkswagen Passats, and tight regulations, the city's taxi service is rated amongst the best in the country. In early 2011 30 electric taxis were deployed in Hangzhou. 15 were Zoyte Langyues and the other 15 were Haima Freemas, however in April one Zoyte Langye caught fire and all of the electric taxis were taken off the roads later that day. The city still intends to have a fleet of 200 electric taxis by the end of 2011.

The Hangzhou Metro is currently under construction. It is expected to have 8 lines upon completion. Phase I, which consists of Line 1, the southern segment of Line 2 and part of the Line 4 that links Line 1 and 2, is scheduled to open for service on October 1, 2012.