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Guangzhou to Deploy More Trains During Rush Hour [UPDATED]

Posted: 05/28/2014 10:45 am

crowd metro subwayGuangzhou Metro Lines 2, 3, and 5 will receive seven new subway trains in order to improve service by the end of the year, reports the Guangzhou Daily.

At present, Lines 2, 3 and 5 exceed passenger capacity at rush hour, while Lines 1, 3, and 5 are the most busy lines.

As explained by the Guangzhou Metro, waiting times on Line 2 are expected to be reduced to 2 minutes 10 seconds from the current waiting time of 2 minutes 20 seconds after the addition of three new trains. Two trains will be added to Line 5 to shorten wait times for commuters to 2 minutes 20 seconds from 2 minutes 30 seconds.

Meanwhile, subway use during the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival this weekend is expected to hit 7.2 million passengers. The Guangzhou Metro will be operating on a weekend schedule during this time.

UPDATE 11:26am May 29, 2014. We should also mention that the Guangzhou Metro will now start limiting commuters from entering 25 stations across the network that are already operating beyond capacity

Stations along Lines 1, 3, 4, 5 and 8 will now restrict the flow of commuters into the transit system starting at the end of this month.

Photo: itxinwen

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New Speedy Railway to Connect Guangzhou South Station and the Airport

Posted: 05/22/2014 12:06 pm

A proposed railway is promising to allow commuters to travel from Guangzhou South Railway Station to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in just 35 minutes.

Announced yesterday in a move to strengthen transportation links between the cities of Guangzhou and Foshan, the new railway line will allow trains to travel at a maximum 200 km/h and will have a total length of 59.44 km.

The new line is planned to have 11 stations including stops in Dashi, Lijiao, Pazhou Convention Center, Tianhe Passenger Terminal, Taihe, Zhuliao, before finally terminating at Guangzhou airport terminals 1, 2 and 3.

While the groundbreaking ceremony to build the new T2 took place back in Aug, 2012, no building date has been confirmed for terminal 3.

It currently takes commuters over an hour to reach the airport from Guangzhou South Railway Station. Commuters need to travel on Line 2 for a total of 23 stops, and then transfer to Line 3 and travel an additional three stops.

Ultimately, the plan is to connect the transportation hubs of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, the Guangzhou South Railway Station, Guangzhou North Railway Station, and Foshan West Railway Station. This route will be have a total length of 158 km, and consist of 14 stations.

The government is currently accepting bids for the construction process.

In other transportation infrastructure news, a proposal to widen the Guangzhou Bridge has been approved. The plan will see the bridge increased from six to ten lanes, and should facilitate traffic to move at a maximum speed of 60km/h. As well, noise barriers will be built for the 237 nearby communities currently affected by noise from the traffic.

And now, the bad news: the construction is expected to last two years.

Photo: iMetro

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So much for progress: ancient tombs ravaged by urbanisation and theft

Posted: 06/20/2013 7:00 am

Ancient tombs have been destroyed in Guangzhou and Jieyang as urbanisation and greed continue to ravage the country’s historical heritage.

Archaeologists discovered Saturday (June 15) that construction of the Guangzhou Subway line 6 had destroyed 5 ancient tombs.

The Guangzhou Metro company claimed it had been granted permission by the Guangzhou Archeological Institute to destroy an area that was home to the 2,000 year-old tombs during the expansion of the line. However, the institute has denied giving the company permission to construct in the area where the tombs lay, Guangdong Satellite Television reports.

The chairman of the institute, Mr. Zhang, put it down to miscommunication.

In related news, the largest Song Dynasty (960-1279) tomb in Eastern Guangdong’s Jieyang City was raided and seriously damaged twice between mid-May and early June. The damage done to the tomb, which is on the protected list of the local government, may be irreparable, Guangzhou Daily reports.

Huang Huanguo’s tomb, courtesy of Guangzhou Daily

The Song Dynasty sage and statesman Huang Huanguo, who originally came from Dingzhou in Fujian Province, is listed as the number 1 most important person in “The Jieyang Book of Ancient Historical Figures” and it was his tomb that was raided twice.

It became a protected site in 1996. Police are investigating.

One commenter on Shanghaiist said: “Destroying their heritage is a National (sic) pastime, it’s called archaeology with Chinese characteristics.”

However, modernity and greed aren’t entirely having their own way. Shanghaiist reports that a tomb raider died when a tunnel collapsed on him when he was trying to steal from a Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BCE) tomb in Shaanxi Province on June 15.

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Man arrested after Guangzhou subway line 1 halted for 20 minutes due to gasoline leak

Posted: 05/30/2013 7:00 am

Police in Guangzhou’s Baiyun District have arrested a 51 year-old man on suspicion of carrying a flammable substance on board a subway train and causing the gasoline leak that saw line 1 halted for 20 minutes yesterday morning, Guangzhou Daily has reported on its microblog.

As if line 1 isn’t busy enough at rush hour, courtesy of Sina Weibo.

At around 7:30 a.m., a train heading east on Guangzhou’s subway line 1 had to be halted after passengers were overcome with the smell of gasoline. The train was evacuated and the whole line heading east was halted for 20 minutes.

Initially, it was thought that the train itself had malfunctioned.

After an investigation, the man surnamed Ji was arrested at his home in Baiyun District’s Jinshazhou at around 5 p.m.

Ji has a history of mental illness. The investigation is ongoing.

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Two middle-aged men beat up security guard on Guangzhou subway

Posted: 02/19/2013 2:01 pm

There is seldom a dull moment on the Guangzhou subway. Another incident has made the news, this time on line 5.

After refusing to have their luggage checked before boarding at Dongpu Station, a man in his 40s and a man in his 60s beat up a security guard on the subway on Monday, causing severe head injuries, Southern Metropolis Daily reports.

They were seized and detained after the train stopped at Sanxi.

According to an eyewitness, a man in his 40s attacked the security guard shortly after boarding at around 6 p.m. when he refused to have his luggage checked. The man then punched the security guard repeatedly in the back of the head.

A man in his 60s later sat on the security guard when he was down, hitting him an estimated 12 times before the train stopped at Sanxi.

Authorites explained that the two men, along with two others who were carrying large amounts of luggage suspected to contain dangerous items, were arrested and the security guard was taken to hospital.

The two who beat the security guard have been detained for 3 days. The other day were fined 200 yuan each for failing to comply with authorities.

The security guard was hospitalized with concussion.

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