Guangzhou was the first city in Guangdong to build a metro system. Over the past 20 years, the metro has become an important part of people's daily lives in the city. With the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area(GBA), Guangzhou has developed a new mode of underground transport -- travelling through the city with only one ticket, improving connectivity in the GBA.

In 2018, Guangzhou finally connected every district via metro. With 4 lines opened, Guangzhou metro system recorded an annual ridership of approximately 3 billion, an average of 8.29 million every day. The distance covered by trains throughout the year was a staggering 335 million kilometres. With 6 lines presently under construction and 23 intercity lines included in its network, Guangzhou is at the forefront of the transport revolution in the GBA.

Creating one-hour transport loop

Early this year, Ding Jianlong, Secretary of the Party committee and chairman of Guangzhou Metro Group, said that Guangzhou Metro should play an integral role in the development of better rail transit in this new era. The urban rail network will operate at speeds of 160 km per hour, making it convenient for citizens in Guangzhou to travel between cities in the GBA.

In terms of connections between Guangzhou and Foshan, aside from the existing Guang-Fo Line, there are two further lines under construction, namely the western section of Guangzhou Metro Line 7 and Foshan Metro Line 2.

Ultimately, there will be a 17 metro lines in Guangzhou connected to Foshan, 5 metro lines connected to Dongguan and Metro Line 18 to Zhongshan and Zhuhai.

TVM with QR code technology

In 2018, the Group invested 345 million yuan in innovation and was granted 57 new national patents. Its knowledge and technology export business across 43 Chinese cities, together with some overseas business, has not only helped the Group realize its own growth, but has driven the development of the rail transit industry in China as a whole.

Guangzhou Metro transports half of Guangzhou's total commuters every day. Faced with this incredible passenger flow of over 8 million, Guangzhou Metro continues to optimize its functions and upgrade its technology.

A key upgrade of late was the implementation of QR code scanning at every gate and QR code payment at every ticket vending machine(TVM), enormously streamlining ticket purchasing for passengers and enabling true cashless transit.

Reported by Will, Pu Enling

Edited by Simon