Subway Line 5 of Dalian Open to Traffic

On Mar. 17, Subway Line 5 of Dalian, first subway line under sea in Northeast China with overall design undertaken by UCD, was put into operation, marking the era of subway network operation started officially in Dalian.

With the total length coming to 24.484 kilometers, the Subway Line 5 starts at Hutanxinqu Station in south and ends at Houguan Station in north, all laid underground with eighteen stations, six of which are transfer stations. The line connects Qingniwa Bridge Business Area and Suoyu Bay Central Business District, two major urban functional core areas of Dalian, and serves Dalian Railway Station and the new airport, two external transportation hubs of Dalian, smashing the bay-incurred obstruction between Qingniwa Bridge Business Area, Suoyu Bay Central Business District and even Laoganjingzi, and transforming the erstwhile only passage of travel. The line has provided new routes of travel for Dalian and brought about a new city pattern of “One Bay Connecting Two Coasts”.

Subway Line 5 of Dalian is the first subway line under sea in Northeast China. With the total length coming to 2882 meters and that of its part under sea adding up to 2310 meters, the subsea tunnel is the first large-diameter shield tunnel in karst strata of sea area in the world. With the slurry balanced shield machine of diameter of 12.26 meters used to pass through sea for the construction, the tunnel is characterized by its“length, largeness, height and difficulty”and is rated by specialists as an unprecedented“difficult project in the world”.

As the 6th subway line built and put into operation in Dalian, the Subway Line 5 is an important integral part of the“Four Longitudinal and Two Horizontal”rail transit network in the city’s central urban area, and is as well the first line built under the second-round rail transit construction plan of Dalian. After the line opened to traffic, the mileage of rail transit lines going into operation in Dalian has amounted to 237.07 kilometers, ranking top in Northeast China.