Northwest China’s first metro line started moving in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province on Friday. Construction on the 20km-long metro, Xi’an Subway Line Two began five years ago. State news agency Xinhua said, “The plan was approved in September 2006 by the State Cultural Relics Bureau before China’s top economic planner the National Development and Reform Commission submitted the ancient capital’s proposal to build a metro system to the State Council.”
It added that settlement was a great concern with many historical buildings above the alignment. “Tunnels were designed to be more than 12 meters deep underground to avoid cultural relics which were mostly located within a depth of eight meters,” said Zheng Yulin, director of the city’s cultural relic bureau. Tunnelling also avoided the ancient city walls.
Xinhua added, “Altogether six subway lines with a length of 251km are scheduled to be built in Xi’an by 2020, which is part of the city’s ambitious plan to become one of China’s biggest cities.” See T&TI next month for a report on the Xi’an Metro.
