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Zhengzhou, located about half way between Beijing and Wuhan, capital of Henan province, with some 4 million inhabitants in its urban area.

East-west line 41.4 km; 30 stations; 8 min base headway

28 Dec 2013: Xiliuhu – Zhengzhou Sports Center (25.4 km, 20 stations)
12 Jan 2017: Xiliuhu – Henan University of Technology
12 Jan 2017: Zhengzhou Sports Center – Wenyuanbeilu
21 Nov 2019: Wenyuanbeilu – New Campus of Henan University

North-south line; 30.9 km long; 5min base headway

19 Aug 2016: Liuzhuang – Nansihuan (20.6 km)
28 Dec 2019: Liuzhuang – Jiahe (10.3 km)

This line was extended south to Xinzheng International Airport with an additional 14 stations, but this is extension is now shown as the "Suburban Line" (see below).

31.8 km

26 Dec 2020: Henan Sports Center – Henan Orthopaedics Hospital (20.5 km)
26 June 2021: Henan Orthopaedics Hospital – Yinggang (5 km)
08 Sept 2023: Yinggang – Binhe Xincheng Nan (6.3 km)

29.3 km

26 Dec 2020: Laoyachen – Langzhuang (29.3 km)
01 Mar 2022: + Jinrongdaonan & Jinrongdaobei stations

40.4 km circular line with 32 stations

20 May 2019: Full circle (40.4 km) - except Jingbei'erlu station
15 May 2021: + Jingbei'erlu

43.4 km

30 Sept 2022: Jiayu – Changzhuang (17 km)
16 Jan 2023: + Jinzhenlu
30 Nov 2024: Changzhuang – Qinghuafuzhong (26.4 km)

21.9 km with 12 stations

28 Sept 2023: Zhengzhou Railway Station - Zhengzhouxi Railway Station (21.9 km)

16.5 km with 11 stations

20 Dec 2023: Lianghu – Longzihu Dong (16.5 km)

7.5 km with 6 stations (4 of which are operational)

19 Sept 2019: Tielu - Olympic Sports Center
12 May 2023: Olympic Sports Center - Lianhu
19 Nov 2024: + Shimindadao station

In fact, a southern extension of metro line 2:

12 Jan 2017: Nansihuan - Xinzheng International Airport (31.7 km)
12 Dec 2020: + Gangqu North station
20 Jun 2022: Xinzheng International Airport – Zhengzhou Hangkonggang Railway Station (9 km)
22 Sept 2023: + Xiaoqiao & Huanancheng East stations

Suburban line running from the Zhengzhou Airport District south to Xuchang City:

28 Dec 2023: Chang’an Lu Bei - Xuchangdong (67.1 km)

see Wikipedia

Zhengzhou Metro (Official Site)

Zhengzhou Metro at Wikipedia

In Dec. 2017, Craig Moore reports from Zhengzhou:

Zhengzhou’s central location makes it a historically important hub for long-distance rail services, yet its Metro only appeared as part of a rush of Chinese openings in late 2013. After the initial service was inaugurated, it took three years before there was a further expansion of the system and now the current service operates across 94.1km (76.6km underground) with 59 stations (52 underground), making it the 12th longest Metro in China.

The Metro network has a ‘cross’ formation with the focal point being the transfer station at Zijingshan. This is a large station located at the crossroads of two of the main arteries of the city. As with all stations on the underground sections, the street presence is in the form of an angular, staggered portico of darkened steel, accompanied by a smart totem. These are quite distinct structures and are surrounded by pushbikes and motorcycles - when exiting metro stations in Zhengzhou, you are greeted by locals offering a motorbike ride to your onward destination – from what I witnessed these are quite well-used services and are wonderfully Chinese! Escalators and stairs lead to a very barren and inhospitable mezzanine level without any colour, before a further descent leads to the main ticket/transfer hall. Unlike most systems in China, the Customer Service Office does not sell tickets as these can only be purchased at the banks of ticket machines located on the outer walls of the large space. The machines are easy to use, but most of them are for ‘phone use’ only. As China heads rapidly toward being a ‘cashless’ society, most people use apps on their phone to cover most day-to-day expenses, and transport is one of them. The machine operates as usual – destination station….number of tickets, and then the fare amount is shown. In the ‘old’ days, one would simply insert the cash amount and a card/token be delivered, but here a QR code appears on the screen, the phone scans the code and then passengers tap the barrier on entry. These machines are also used for adding balances to the virtual travel card. There are ticket machines for non app users/European Luddites such as myself but these are few. The tickets come in the form of a well-designed card and fares are distance-based, ranging from 2-9 Yuan. A security check and ticket barriers lead to the paid area and this is a bit of a confused mess at Zijingshan. Access to the platforms of the two lines are scattered across the large space because the platforms do not lie simply perpendicular but are at skewed angles and the wayfinding signs characterise this rather chaotic layout. From either line you have to rise to the ticket hall, cross the open, busy space and then drop again to the alternate line, aided by passenger flow barriers. Line 1 appears to be the deeper of the two lines and the platforms at this station are wider than the outlying stations to cope with the heavy passenger numbers.

Line 1 runs east-west and has termini at two of the city’s main universities. It is a fully underground line and hosts 30 stations, operating from 0600-2200 with trains running 6/7min base headways. The line is busy across its entire 40.6km (1h11mins) and it plays a strategic role in the mobility of the city, serving many major trip-generating points including Zhengzhou Railway Station and the CRH high speed East Station. This station is the most interesting on the line with an open atrium above the platform and side corridors. The newer stations at both ends have a similar feel (just a bit brighter and with more red trim) to the original section and it is safe to say that on the uniformity-diversity spectrum, Zhengzhou has certainly edged toward a homogenised station structure. The platforms are all island type with full screens topped by two deep panels, one with the full line strip map and the other with localised information including previous and next two stations plus terminus. RTI screens show the next two train arrivals and Metro information and there are pillars across the entire length of the 6-car platforms. These pillars, together with the broad stairwells, escalators and lift make the platforms rather cluttered with narrow boarding and alighting areas. The ends of the platforms have seating, a basic station location map, a set of vending machines and toilets, and the walls here are topped by a red patterned border, the pattern based on the smart metro logo. This coloured trim gives the platforms some style, which is otherwise lost in the plentiful advertising festooned across the space. As with the ticket hall there is no schematic map of the system (I saw only 2 - one at the airport and one at Zijingshan, both were hidden away on a side wall and looked very pale and forlorn), and locality information is adequate at best. Mappage is sadly lacking quality across the system.

Line 2 runs north-south and gives the system its classic ‘+’ formation. Services run from Liuzhuang to Nansihuan with the same operating times and headways as Line 1 and the 20.1km underground (16 stations) journey takes 36min journey. The line opened three years after Line 1 during which time China witnessed a transformation in the style and individuality of Metro stations, but here the offer is very similar to that of Line 1. The entrance areas are rectangular with barriers, security and Customer Office, and the side walls in some stations have art work, but at island platform level the look and feel is pretty identical to its older sister. This line does not have embossed tiles on pillars but has a more pronounced mustard trim, the stair walls house very nice calligraphic station names with pale images as a background, and there is a slightly fresher feel about the line. The platforms do appear narrower than those on Line 1, and the ceilings are low, exaggerating the confined feel brought by the entrance stairs/escalators, and multiple pillars. The line runs smoothly and, as with Line 1, it is busy, especially at Zijingshan and Dongfenglu. At Zhanmatun the train speed increases as the line moves closer to the surface where at the terminus of Nansihuan the platforms are only a shallow stairwell from the surface, with the ticket hall above ground. Two of every three trains terminate at Nansihuan, whilst every 18mins the train continues its way further south to the airport.

Although in essence, a southern extension of Line 2 and operated as a single line (and a single colour identifier), line maps show that, south of Nansihuan, the service is rebranded as the Chengjiao Line. This busy line is of suburban metro type (14 stations plus two unopened elevated stations) and so the entire service is a hybrid of both suburban and urban running. This newest addition (Jan 2017) to the Zhengzhou Metro is 33.4km in length (53.5km total length Line 2 + Chengjiao Line) and is different from other rail provision in that it has a mix of underground, elevated and grade running (17.5km above ground). After Shibalihe the line climbs to an elevated section housing 7 stations (Xiaoqiao is the busiest on this initial section). These are quite significant structures with elevated ticket halls, accessed by overhead walkway from the street. The platform levels have half screens and glazed side walls, with line maps and station names located on hanging beams above the platform. With the bowed panelled roof and light grey hue of the overall structure, these stations have a bright and open feel. The stations have side platforms with the exception of Shawoli and Mengzhuang which have twin island platforms -trains use the central tracks at Shawoli and the outer tracks at Mengzhuang. Beyond the meandering section at Huanancheng West the area is mainly undeveloped although plots are being readied for housing blocks. Here, station distances are long (up to 5km) and line speeds are good, with tilting on bends and a smooth ride. Between Huanancheng East and Mengzhuang the line has a short grade section and also has a series of flying junctions to the sheds, before heading back underground as it slows and meanders its way to the airport station, calling at five intermediate underground stations, all similar to the Line 2 offer. At the airport, the station is well signed from the arrivals hall and the journey from Nansihuan takes 41mins (1h17 for full Line 2 journey).

The Zhengzhou Metro uses modern, stylish 6-carriage through-sets produced by CSR (B Type stock) and these are powered via overhead supply. The streamlined frontage is smart and the sides have narrow red or mustard bands at the base (line dependent), with a rectangular pattern on the doors and a broad black band at window level. The interiors have pale grey side seating and blue mottled flooring and there are electronic strip maps above the doors and audio/electronic arrival information in Mandarin and English. Occasional LCD screens have advertising and Metro information but there is no system map on the trains.

In general, whilst there are no ‘stand out’ features on the Zhengzhou Metro, and there is a very homogenised feel to the system, it is, overall, smart and functional. It is very well patronised and covers the city widely with a good service level. It’s just a pity that map provision is so poor.