Tianshui Tram

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Tianshui Tram
Logo
Network map (2019)
Overview
Native name天水有轨电车
Area servedQinzhou and Maiji districts, Tianshui, Gansu, China
LocaleTianshui, Gansu, China
Transit typeLight rail
Number of lines2
Number of stations26
Operation
Began operationMay 1, 2020; 5 years ago (2020-05-01)[1]
Operator(s)Tianshui Signal & Communication Trams Co., Ltd (天水通号有轨电车有限责任公司)
Number of vehicles17
Technical
System length30.1 km (19 mi)[2]
Top speed70 km/h (43 mph)

Tianshui Tram is a light rail system consisting of two lines in Qinzhou District and Maiji District, Tianshui, Gansu, China.

History

[edit]

Construction started on July 15, 2018[3] and testing started in March 2019 on a 600 meter long test section.[4] The total investment for the project is estimated at 2.446 billion Yuan.[5] The first phase started commercial operation on May 1, 2020.[1]

In 2024 it was reported that the single completed tram line operates at a huge loss, having a CNY 16 million annual passenger revenue while having a CNY 40 million annual operating cost. The tram project's financial burden on the city's finances have led to construction of phase 2 of the first line to be delayed.[6][7]

On June 18 2025, most of the second phase opened for passengers: Wulipu to Jingkun Xijun Sanzhong and Yangpodong to Tianshui Jichang[8], while the airport to Yingchuan Hekou terminus section is still under construction.

Background

[edit]

Public transport in Tianshui was almost solely serviced by bus routes before. The Tianshui Tram is the first rail transport in Tianshui for local transit. Due to the spatial layout of Tianshui in an east-west river valley, all planned lines will roughly follow the river. Tianshui government chose China Railway Signal & Communication (CRSC) to develop the tram line under a design-build-operate contract. The system is the first revenue service of CRSC's new tram subsidiary, and will also function as a demonstration of their technology.

Lines

[edit]

Originally there was 3 lines being planned for the Tianshui network with a long-term perspective of an addition of two more lines.[9]

Line 1 was consisting of a main line from Jiekou Town to Economic Development Zone, and a branch line from Yangpodong to Tianshui Railway Station. Among them, the main line (Jiekou Town to Economic Development Zone) was planned to be the main rail transit line in Tianshui City that crosses the east-west main urban area, connecting the main urban areas of Qinzhou and Maiji districts, while taking into account the enlarging towns and economic development zones around the main urban area.

Line 2 was planned to be a north-south line connecting Qinzhou District and Sanyangchuan. It should have mainly undertaken passenger transportation tasks in the central urban areas of Tianshui City and Sanyangchuan New Area, while taking into account the role of public transportation in Sanyangchuan New Town.

Line 3 was another north-south line connecting Maiji District and Maijishan Scenic Area with an additional section from Yingchuanhekou to Maijishan Grottoes on Line 3.

Line 1

[edit]
Phase 1

The first phase of Line 1 is running from Wulipu station in Qinzhou District to Tianshui Railway Station in Maiji District.[10] The tram tracks follow the Jie River, and further along, the Wei River closely for the entire length and are built on a man-made raised riverbank. Phase 1 of Line 1 has a length of 12.9 kilometres (8.0 mi) and serving 12 stations with two more stations not having been opened yet.[11] It was constructed by China Railway Signal & Communication Guizhou Construction Company[12] and has no at-grade road intersections.[13] The commercial operation commenced on May 1, 2020.[1]

Phase 2

Phase 2 was originally planned to start construction in October 2019,[14] this was later revised to November 2020 with a construction period of three years and a budget of CNY6.547 billion (US$990 million).[15] This second phase consists a west extension of Line 1 and it was built simultaneously with the originally named branch line of Line 1, later rebranded as Line 2, the southeast extension branch line.[16] In total the new sections will measure 21.6 km (13.4 mi) and having 19 stops, creating a light rail network of 35.0 km (21.7 mi).[15]

The west extension from Wulipu station onwards with 11.9 km (7.4 mi) and 10 stations deviates from the riverbank, passing through the commercial centre of Qinzhou District, terminating at Jingkun Xijun Sanzhong (Jingkun Xijun ＆ Tianshui No.3 Middle School).[16] It was opened on 18 June 2025.[2]

Station list
Service routes Station name en Station name zh[17] Location Connections
● Tianshui Train Station 天水火车站 Maiji Tianshui railway station TSJ
● Maiji Bus Station 麦积公交总站
● Chengjixinjiayuan 成纪新家园
● Shiyizhong 市一中
● Pujingjiu Road 铺经九路
| Fenlukou[note 1] 分路口
| Huaniu[note 1] 花牛
| ● Yingchuan Hekou[note 2] 颍川河西路
| ● [note 2]
| ● [note 2]
| ● [note 2]
| ● [note 2]
| ● Tianshui Jichang 天水机场 Tianshui Maijishan Airport THQ
| | Gaotiexincheng[note 1] 高铁新城
| ● Tianshui Nanzhan 天水南站 Tianshui railway station TIJ
| ● Baiyacun 白崖村
| ● Dongershilipu 东二十里铺
● ● Yangpodong 阳坡东
● Jihejingguangongyuan 藉河景观公园
● Tianxiudaqiao 天秀大桥
● Chengjixincheng 成纪新城 Qinzhou
● Xianjia Road 县家路
● Yanhecun 闫河村
● Wulipu 五里铺
● Gongye Bowuguan 工业博物馆
● Zhuge Junlei 诸葛军垒
● Nongfa Hang 农发行
● Lantian Guangchang 兰天广场
● Fuximiao 伏羲庙
● Tianshui Shida 天水师大
● Chiyulu 赤峪路
● Xishili 西十里
● Jidian Xueyuan 机电学院
● Jingkun Xijun Sanzhong 景坤西郡三中
  1. ^ a b c This station is not opened.
  2. ^ a b c d e Under construction.
Service

Trams run every 10 minutes during peak-hours and every 15 minutes during regular hours.[18]

Line 2

[edit]

Line 2 was newly planned to split from Line 1 halfway at Yangpodong station, immediately crossing the Jie River, and serving Tianshui South railway station, then continuing through the southeast part of the built-up area in Maiji District, on the south bank of the Wei River and Jie River. The line was originally planned to cover a total of 16.1 kilometres (10.0 mi) and serve 17 stations.[11]

As construction of Line 2 started with phase 2 of the Line 1, the plans had already been cut and the southeast extension branch will now run from Yangpodong to Yingchuan Hekou, covering 10.2 km (6.3 mi) and serving 10 stations.[16] It has been opened for 5.3 km (3.3 mi) with additional four stations until the airport together with the west extension on 18 June 2025. These extensions have triggered a reorganisation of operations, with the section of original line from Yangpodong to Tianshui Rail Station now operated as Line 2, with the main of the system becoming Line 1 from Tianshui South HSR station to Jingkunxijun Tianshui No.3 Middle School.[2]

Line 3

[edit]

Line 3 is now planned to be 7.25 kilometres (4.50 mi) long and service 10 stations on the south bank of the Jie River in Qinzhou District.[11]

Network map

[edit]

Map

Rolling stock

[edit]
Rolling stock at Changsha International Convention & Exhibition Centre

The rolling stock on Line 1 is constructed by China Railway Signal & Communication Vehicle Company in Changsha. The trams use supercapacitors combined with batteries, instead of overhead lines, and are charged only at stops.[19] The trams are fully low floor, have a maximum speed of 70 kilometres per hour (43 mph) and have 58 seats, and a total carrying capacity of 370 persons.[20] Each tramset consists of five short wheelbase carriages.[21][22] It is the first implementation of CRSC's new low-floor trams.[23][24]

The trams are nicknamed "Boyue" (伯约),[25] the courtesy name of Jiang Wei, a military general from the historical Three Kingdoms period who grew up in Tianshui.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "【视频】5月1日10点，天水有轨电车将通车运营". 2020-05-01.
  2. ^ a b c "Chongqing, Nanchang, Guangzhou and Tianshui expand their networks". Railway Gazette International. July 7, 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  3. ^ "天水有轨电车首跨现浇简支箱梁开始进行混凝土浇筑". 深圳市兴昌达机械设备有限公司. 2 November 2018.
  4. ^ "首列天水有轨电车试车啦~-汉唐有轨电车". www.hantram.cn.
  5. ^ "王军与尹刚就天水有轨电车项目座谈交流". www.maiji.gov.cn.
  6. ^ "甘肃天水盲目举债上马"有轨电车"被通报：一期年运营亏空三千万，二期成"闹心"工程". www.stcn.com. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
  7. ^ "Caught in a tram: Chinese city's 'white elephant' project named and shamed". South China Morning Post. 2024-01-16. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  8. ^ "曾被通报批评，甘肃天水有轨电车经整改后二期开通运营，首月免费乘坐". m.cnhubei.com. Retrieved 2025-06-19.
  9. ^ "Tianshui tram rolled out". Railway Gazette.
  10. ^ "重磅！天水首条有轨电车成功实现全线轨通（视频+图文）". 天水发布 (Tianshui Announcement). 2019-11-18.
  11. ^ a b c "天水有轨电车一期铺轨工程下月底完工". June 19, 2019.
  12. ^ "天水有轨电车工程_首页_中国铁路通信信号贵州建设有限公司". thjs.crsc.cn.
  13. ^ "天水有轨电车开始进行槽型轨焊接". 新浪网. 29 May 2019.
  14. ^ "天水有轨电车示范线(二期)项目正式启动 总投资64亿". news.ecrrc.com.
  15. ^ a b "天水市有轨电车示范线（二期）项目开工". www.gansu.gov.cn. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  16. ^ a b c "天水市有轨电车示范线（二期）工程". 2019-10-31.
  17. ^ "【视频】5月1日10点，天水有轨电车将通车运营". 2020-05-01.
  18. ^ "天水事儿". 14 December 2019. 高峰期将达到10分钟一列，平峰期15分钟一列。
  19. ^ "Tianshui tramway opens". The International Light Rail Magazine. 2020-06-09. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  20. ^ "天水有轨电车"龙文化"车模亮相_天水_中国甘肃网". gansu.gscn.com.cn.
  21. ^ "它，真的来了！天水有轨电车首车复编上线（视频）_政务_澎湃新闻-The Paper". www.thepaper.cn.
  22. ^ "CRSC's First Tram Sent to Tianshui". 24 March 2019.
  23. ^ "Rail transit industry expo wows crowds with state-of-the-art models - Chinadaily.com.cn". www.chinadaily.com.cn.
  24. ^ "Status of External Contracts Signed in 2015" (PDF). China Railway Signal & Communication.
  25. ^ ""伯约号"鸣笛 天水有轨电车通车了！".