Line 9 is a

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 ...

line of the

Tianjin Metro The Tianjin Metro or Tianjin Rail Transit is the rapid transit system in the city of Tianjin, which was the second city in mainland China after Beijing to operate a subway system (the Beijing Subway opened in 1971). First opened in 1984, the ...

. It spans with 21 stations, connecting the urban area of

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

with

Binhai New Area Binhai, fully known as Binhai New Area (), abbreviated as Binhai and Bincheng, is a sub-provincial division, new area and special economic zone of China under the jurisdiction of Tianjin, People's Republic of China, located in the eastern co ...

, a new area within the jurisdiction of

Tianjin Municipality Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the 2020 Chinese census. Its metropoli ...

. The one-way journey time is approximately one hour. Line 9 is run by Tianjin Binhai Mass Transit Development Co., Ltd, which became a subsidiary of Tianjin Rail Transit Group Corporation in 2017.

Design

Most of the line is elevated that runs parallel to the

Jinbin Expressway The Jinbin Expressway is a direct expressway link from central Tianjin to Tanggu and TEDA, China. It is 33.54 km in length, 28.54 of which exists as an expressway, and 5 km as a city express road. Route The Jingjintang Expressway run ...

(only the westernmost runs in

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

s). Hence, it is often wrongly called "

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

", as is commonplace in China with elevated or at-grade metro lines. Trains can reach a speed of up to . Of the 4 bridges along the line, the No. 1 and No. 4 bridges are longer and use

ballastless track A ballastless track or slab track is a type of railway track infrastructure in which the traditional elastic combination of sleepers and ballast is replaced by a rigid construction of concrete or asphalt. It is considered the standard for high-s ...

, while the No. 2 and No. 3 bridges use ballasted track. The No. 1 bridge, from Guanghua Road (between Dongxing Road and Zhongshanmen stations) to Babao, with a total length of , is the longest bridge used in rapid transit systems in China.

History

Line 9 first opened on 28 March 2004. It was extended to on 15 October 2012, connecting with the main metro network by allowing passengers to transfer to Lines 2 and 3. Train service on the whole line was suspended on 13 August 2015 after a series of massive explosions devastated the area. The explosions occurred less than a kilometre from Donghailu station; the roof of the station collapsed, and the control centre nearby was destroyed. It resumed operation on 16 December from

Tianjin Railway Station Tianjin Railway Station (), also translated as Tianjin Station, is the principal railway station in Tianjin, China. It was established in 1888, rebuilt in 1987–1988, and restructured in 2007–2008. Its Chinese big title was written by Deng X ...

to Tianjin Pipe Corporation Station.

Timeline

* 18 May 2001 - Construction begins * 30 September 2003 - Construction completes * 28 March 2004 - Trial service begins, 6 stations are open to service: Zhongshanmen, Donglikaifaqu, Gangguangongsi, Yanghuoshichang, Dongtinglu, and Donghailu. The price of the tickets are 3 yuan for less than or 5 yuan for greater than . The first train departs at 07:00 and the last at 19:00. Hujiayuan is a special station only open to BMT staffs and Huizhanzhongxin station near TEDA football field is only open for football matches and other special events. * 25 May 2004 - Yihaoqiao station opens for service * 13 September 2004 - Extends open time to 06:30 - 19:00 * 18 October 2004 - Shiminguangchang station opens * 27 March 2005 - Huizhanzhongxin station opens on normal days * 28 April 2005 - Erhaoqiao station opens, Yihaoqiao station closes. Automatic ticket selling and checking system begins use. The price of a ticket changes to 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 yuan, depending on the travel distance. Extends open time to 06:30 - 20:00. * Late 2005 or early 2006 - Yanghuoshichang station changed name to Tanggu; Dongtinglu changed name to TEDA. * 1 March 2006 - Yihaoqiao station reopens; Xinlizhen, Xiaodongzhuang, Junliangcheng, Hujiayuan stations open, so all 14 stations that have been constructed are open. * 28 March 2006 - At 11 a.m., the trains begin

automatic train operation Automatic train operation (ATO) is a method of operating trains automatically where the driver is not required or is required for supervision at most. Alternatively, ATO can be defined as a subsystem within the automatic train control, which pe ...

; the total travel time from Zhongshanmen to Donghailu decreases from 49 min to 47.5 min. * 1 May 2006 - Extends open time to 06:30 - 21:00. * 1 May 2010 - Shiyijing Road to Zhongshanmen was opened * 12 August 2015 - the

2015 Tianjin explosions On 12 August 2015, a series of explosions at the Port of Tianjin in Tianjin, Northern China, killed 173 people, according to official reports, and injured hundreds of others. The explosions occurred at a container storage station in the Binh ...

caused significant damage; all operations are suspended. * 16 December 2015 -

to Tianjin Pipe Corp Station section resumes operation. The operation time is 06:00 - 22:30. * Early 2016 - Tianjin Pipe Corp Station to Citizen Plaza section resumes operation. * 31 December 2016 - Citizen Plaza to Donghai Road section resumes operation.

Chronology of section openings

Stations (west to east)

Service routes: * Tianjin Railway Station - Donghai Road * Tianjin Railway Station - Zhigu - Tanggu through train, runs twice on each directions, of which the 05:55 train from Tianjinzhan will continue to Donghailu (↓)

Rolling stock

The set BMT-122 was damaged in an explosion accident on 12 August 2015, but was repaired and overhauled. Before it backed to service, it has been changed set number to 922.

Notes

References

{{Tianjin Metro navbox, line9=yes Tianjin Metro lines Railway lines opened in 2004 2004 in Tianjin