A passenger enjoys the tunnel view from the unmanned driver’s cabin on a train running on Metro Line 20, the city’s first automated Metro line that was put into operation yesterday. Riders on the line can have a full view of the tunnel on a running train in the first and last carriages. Xinhua
Fairgores now have quick access to the Shenzhen World Exhibition and Convention Center in Bao’an District for the ongoing 23rd China Hi-Tech Fair as Phase I of Line 20, the city’s first driverless Metro line, was put into operation at 4:28 p.m. yesterday.
Visitors to the center can make exit from C1 and C2 at Guozhan Station and C1 and C2 at Guozhan North Station, according to the line operator Shenzhen Metro.
The 8.43-kilometer section connects the center with Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport and has five stations, including three interchange stations.
Passengers can transfer to Line 11 and the Guangzhou-Shenzhen Intercity Railway at Airport North Station.
During its early run, Line 20’s eight-carriage trains operate between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. with 7-minute intervals during rush hours and 9-minute intervals during off-peak hours. A single trip takes 13 minutes, according to the company.
“The operator will constantly adjust the train timetable according to the passenger flow distribution,” Wang Ji, head of Guozhan North Station, said at an interview yesterday.
At each station’s service center, ticket vending machines are available for fee charging and information inquiry, such as navigation and transfer guidance, through facial recognition and vocal interaction. Facial recognition technology is also used at turnstiles.
Passengers need to register to authorize using facial recognition at ticket dispensers before using the service.
Line 20’s operation brings the city’s total number of in-service Metro lines to 12, which cover a total length of 419 kilometers with 288 stations.
Line 20, dubbed as the demonstration line of technologies, adopts the communication-based train autonomous control system (TACS), which helps improve railway transportation efficiency and safety.
TACS ensures safe rail operation using data communication between various control points that make up the system.
It uses an off-board computer to monitor all trains running on tracks by sending information to computers aboard the trains, which allows trains to be spaced closer together compared to a manually controlled line.