Metro Line 9 east extension set to start operation
Tests on the east extension of Metro Line 9 have been completed and it is estimated that it will start operation before the end of this month.
It is worth mentioning that some stations along the extension have, for the first time, been decorated in modern industrial style, with all pipes and cables on the ceiling exposed.
“This is an innovation in terms of decoration style as well as follow-up management,” Shi Lihong, manager of Metro Shensong Project, said of the interior decoration of Jinji Road Station. “Different pipes and cables are painted in different colors, and all of them are marked with a tag, it would save us a lot of trouble in finding out which is which during maintenance.”
Shi said instead of building pillars and pipes at the station, the Metro chose to build them elsewhere and install them at the station. "It is more environment friendly since the amount of work at the station was reduced," Shi explained.
Such design also appears in the refrigeration room of Fangdian Road Station. Different water pipes have been painted in blue, green, yellow and orange in order to make it easier for workers to distinguish the functions of the pipes. “We hope to improve the work environment for workers as well as the overall efficiency,” said Shi.
Meanwhile, new unisex toilets have been built at all stations along the extension. The unisex toilet is equipped with mother-and-child facilities and access facilities for disabled people.
In response to the problem of long queues outside women's WC, all female toilets at these stations are equipped with two additional squatting pits.
The east extension of Line 9 starts from Middle Yanggao Road Station and ends at Caolu Station.