Southward Extension Line of Hefei Rail Transit Line 4 Open to Traffic

On May 1st, the southward extension line of Rail Transit Line 4 of Hefei, with the general contracting of survey and design undertaken by UCD, was open to traffic. As the first Y-shaped line of rail transit network in Hefei, the southward extension line connects the existing Line 4 to link Feixi County, Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone, Government Affairs Area, high-speed train station and Xinzhan High-tech Industrial Development Zone, which will effectively boost the development of the southwestern area of Hefei and improve the travel conditions for neighboring residents.

The extension line of Hefei Line 4 runs as long as 13.97 kilometers, with 8 stations set up including 3 underground stations and 5 elevated stations. It is a line with the most elevated stations in Hefei. Overhead laying was done substantially for the project, economizing on the investment efficiently. The theme of “A great hawk spreading its wings” features the external facades of the elevated stations to appear stretched, grand and magnificent. The design of elevated lines and stations takes the integration of landscape and environment into full consideration and flexibly chooses the design scheme of combining islands and sides and laying in the middle and on the side of the road to reduce the influence of elevated lines on urban landscapes along the line.

The underground stations of the project are all deep and large foundation pits, and the sections pass through more than 20 existing subway lines, watercourses, buildings, bridges, national railways and important culverts. Particularly in the railway sections the line continually passes through 11 railways, being the biggest in number and in length and making it difficult to implement the project. The design team summed up the experience from the existing lines and conducted standardized research on the types of the foundation pit support structure and main structure, section construction method and initial reception method of the project station to ensure the smooth implementation of the project.

The Ziyunhu Vehicle Depot tallies with the urban planning, forges the “rail transit ecosphere” integrating stations, yards and urban areas, sets forth the spatial layout of two axes and one center and integrated stations and urban areas and, in line with subways and green axis in various areas, the depot forges the compound system of transportation and landscape cutting through east and west, south and north to act in concert with multiple functions such as dwelling, business and landscape. The double station hall design concept has been put forward for the first time in China. Stations halls are to be set up on the ground floor and on the cover layer separately to meet the living needs on and under the cover layer to strive for the maximization of social and economic benefits.

In the light of the line network planning and the construction planning and in line with the time schedules for the construction of Line 4, southward extension line of Line 4 and the first phase of Line 6, the design team made forward-looking design of the equipment system and the vehicle depot workmanship, embodying UCD’s profound technical base in China’s urban rail transit field and its deep understanding of urban rail transit development.

To date, UCD had undertaken the overall design of 4 rail transit lines of Hefei, with the total length coming to 84.4 kilometers and making contribution to rail transit development in Hefei.