The Harbin Metro is the

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...

system of

Harbin Harbin, ; zh, , s=哈尔滨, t=哈爾濱, p=Hā'ěrbīn; IPA: . is the capital of Heilongjiang, China. It is the largest city of Heilongjiang, as well as being the city with the second-largest urban area, urban population (after Shenyang, Lia ...

, the provincial capital of

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang is a province in northeast China. It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe City along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the confluence of the Amur and Us ...

Province in northeastern China. The system began operation on 26 September 2013 with the opening of Line 1. It has three lines.

Hours and fares

In the winter time, the metro begins operation at 6:00 am and the last train departs at 9:00 pm.(Chinese
哈尔滨地铁26日开通 10时30分开始售票三种方式购票
2013-09-26 Fares range from ¥2 to ¥4 depending on trip distance. Single-ride and rechargeable fare cards may be purchased at ticket windows or automatic fare card machines in each station.

Lines in operation

Line 1

Line 1 is oriented along the east–west axis of the

urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

, from northeast to southwest.

Line 2

Line 2 opened on 19 September 2021. It is 28.7 km in length with 19 stations.

Line 3

Line 3 is a circular line around the

. The first phase consisted of 5 stations and opened in 2017. The section from to , and the section from to opened on 26 November 2021. The circular line was completed on 27 November 2024.

History

The Harbin Metro was approved by the State Council in 2005. The initial investment was estimated to cost US$643 million.́ The project was headed by the Harbin Municipal People's Government Metro Construction, which established a Track Traffic Construction Office led by the city's construction commission.́ In 2006, an official "Initiation Ceremony of Harbin Metro Trial Project" was held, signifying the actual

implementation Implementation is the realization of an application, execution of a plan, idea, scientific modelling, model, design, specification, Standardization, standard, algorithm, policy, or the Management, administration or management of a process or Goal ...

of Harbin Line 1 project. The builders made use of a 10.1 km air defense tunnel built in the 1970s as part of the "7381" civil air-defense, which forms part of Line 1.(Chinese
哈尔滨地铁1号线载客试运营正式开通
2013-09-26 Construction on Line 1 began a second time on 29 September 2009 and was later halted and began a third time in March 2010. In March 2011 the contract for traincars for first line was signed with Changchun Railway Vehicles co. ltd. The target date for opening of the first line, 17.47 km in length, with 18 stations was set to the end of 2012. Line 1 opened on 26 September 2013.

Future lines

On 18 April 2016, the official website of Harbin Metro Group released the "Announcement of Environmental Impact Assessment for the Second Phase of Harbin Urban Rail Transit Construction Plan (2017-2022)". The planned line length is about 85 km, including 65 stations. According to updated news in 2023, only Lines 4 and 5 are planned in second phase of Harbin Metro. The length will be shortened to 70.6 km with 54 stations.

References

External links

Government site of Harbin
{{Rapid transit in Asia Railway lines opened in 2013 2013 establishments in China Rapid transit in China Metro Underground rapid transit in China