CHINA: Ningbo metro Line 7 opened on August 29, running from Yufan in the north for 39·4 km to Yunlong in the southeast. Six of 25 stations are interchanges, providing connections to all current lines except Line 8; five more stations are due to become interchanges as further lines are built.
Plans for the 100 km/h line were put forward in 2014, with construction starting in January 2022.
A fleet of 40 six-car Type-B2 trainsets powered by 1·5 kV DC overhead has been assembled locally by CRRC’s Ningbo industrial base. Traction equipment was supplied by the CRRC Zhuzhou, and includes permanent-magnet synchronous motors and bidirectional converters that are projected to cut energy consumption by 20%.
Line 7 is Ningbo Metro’s second route to be fully-automated to level GoA4, along with Line 8 opened June 30 2025. East–west Line 6 under construction and scheduled for opening next year will also be equipped to GoA4 standard; signalling and safety systems for all three lines were delivered by Casco Signal.
Since Ningbo opened its first metro line in May 2014 the network has expanded to seven lines totalling 261·6 km with 156 stations. A further 168 route-km is under construction, including three new lines:
- Line 6 – opening 2026, urban metro east–west from Honglian to Ningbo West Transportation Hub (39·8 km, 24 stations)
- Line 10 (Ningci) – opening 2026, regional metro northwest from Kongpu to Cixi (64 km, 13 stations);
- Line 12 (Ningxiang) – opening 2027, regional metro southeast from Xiaoyangjiang to Damu Bay (61 km, 10 stations).
