The much-anticipated southern section of Qingdao Metro Line 1 opened to traffic on Dec 30 in Qingdao, Shandong province, making travel much more convenient for local residents.

The southern section of Qingdao Metro Line 1 opens to traffic on Dec 30 in Qingdao, Shandong province. [Photo/iqilu.com]

The southern section of Qingdao Metro Line 1 is about 38 kilometers long and has 26 stations. It starts from Wangjiagang Road to Qingdao North Railway Station and connects to the northern section of Line 1, which opened in 2020.

Qingdao Metro Line 1 connects West Coast New Area and the districts of Shinan, Shibei, Licang and Chengyang in Qingdao, making it an important transportation artery in the city.

Qingdao now has six metro lines in operation, spanning a total distance of 284 kilometers.

"The total length of the Metro Line 1 sea-crossing tunnel is 8.1km, including 3.49 km that goes through the mouth of Jiaozhou Bay. The maximum depth between the sea level and the submarine area is 88 meters," said Zhou Guiyin, deputy general manager of Qingdao Metro Line 1 Co.

"It only takes 6 minutes to cross Jiaozhou Bay by subway. After Jiaozhou Bay Bridge and Jiaozhou Bay Highway Tunnel, Metro Line 1 has become another cross-sea channel to travel between the West Coast New Area and the main urban area of Qingdao," added Zhou.