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The Chinese city of Suzhou lies in the province of Jiangsu, some 80 km west of Shanghai. It has some 2.3 million inhabitants in the urban area, and 6 million in the larger metropolitan area.

The initial Suzhou metro network includes lines 1 to 4, with a total length of 141 kilometers with 107 stations, comprising two north-south and two east-west lines completed by the end of 2019.

25 km with 24 stations, east-west; after construction had started on 26 Dec 2006, the line was opened in April 2012.

28 April 2012: Mudu - Zhongnan Jie

Starting from the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway Station and going southward to South Outer Ring Road in Wuzhong Economic Development Zone with a length of 27 km and 22 stations. After being extended in both directions in Sept. 2016, it has a total length of 40.4 km.

28 Dec 2013: Suzhou North Railway Station - Baodaiqiao South
24 Sept 2016: Suzhou North Railway Station - Qihe and Baodaiqiao South - Sangtian Dao

45.3 km northwest-to-east line that includes the southern part of a virtual circular line:

25 Dec 2019: Suzhou Xinqu Railway Station - Weiting (45.3 km)
23 Dec 2023: Line 3 cut back from Weiting to Fengting Avenue, while overlapping service is introduced with line 11 between Jinsheqiao and Fengting Avenue.

52.8 km north-south line(38 stations) with two branches at southern end. The Muli branch will become part of Line 7 in the future.

15 April 2017: Longdaobang - Tongli (42 km) + branch Hongzhuang - Muli (10.8 km)

44 km east-west line (34 stations):

29 June 2021: Taihu Xiangshan – Yangchenghu South (44.1 km)

41.3 km suburban underground east-west line (28 stations) linking the Suzhou and Shanghai metro networks via Kunshan:

24 Jun 2023: Weiting - Huaqiao (41.3 km)
23 Dec 2023: Line 11 extended west from Weiting to Jinsheqiao, while overlapping service is introduced with line 3 between Jinsheqiao and Fengting Avenue (Weiting - Fengting Avenue previously served by line 3).

 TRAM

SND (Suzhou New District) Tram Line 1:
- opened 26 Oct 2014: Shizizhan (formerly Suzhou Amusement Land) - Longkang Road (18.1 km)
- extended west from Longkang Road to Xiyang Mountain on 28 April 2018 (7.6 km)
- Rolling stock: 18 100% low-floor bidirectional trams manufactured by CSR Nanjing Puzhen Rolling Stock Co., based on Bombardier’s Flexity 2; 32.2 m long and 2.65 m wide

SND Tram Line 2:
- opened 31 Aug 2018: Longkang Road - Suzhou New District Railway Station / Wenchang Road
- 28 Aug 2023: branch added T2 Hangchuanbang – Nanjing University East (1.8 km)

Suzhou Subway (Official Website)

Suzhou Subway at Wikipedia

In May 2018, Craig Moore sends his views on Suzhou:

Located in the centre of the Yangtze Delta, just 25mins by CRH from Shanghai, Suzhou is one of the most ancient cities in the world, and now, one of the fastest growing (economically and demographically). As such, the city provides an interesting juxtaposition between the old and new China, with high rise vistas mixed with quaint canals and UNESCO listed historic sites.

The Suzhou Metro opened in 2012 and now offers three lines and 118.3km of revenue service. The two oldest lines began construction during the phase of rapid expansion of Chinese Metros and are of the simple model used across China at the time.

Line 1 is 25.1km and runs east-west from the industrial area at Zhongnan Road to Mudu, near Mt. Tianping. The line operates from 0600-2200 and has 24 stations, taking 46mins to complete the journey. It is fully underground and uses 5 car CSR Nanjing stock. The interior is quite pale with side seating, grab poles, LCD screens and one schematic map per carriage, tucked away by the end door. As is the norm in China, audio and electronic information is offered in Chinese and English. The line runs at 6 to 7min base headways and, with the exception of two long 45 degree curves around Suzhou Amusement Land, it is pretty uneventful. Interchange to Line 2 is at Guanglinan Lu. This has side platforms and Line 2 lies below and perpendicular to Line 1. Transfer to Line 4 is at Leqiao and again transfer is simple.

Line 2 operates identical hours and frequencies to Line 1, again with 5-car CSR sets. These have a white and pale blue livery and bright two-tone yellow seating, but have a plentiful supply of schematic maps within the train. Running from the southeast of the city at Sangtiandao to QiHe in the north east the line runs in a ‘C’ shape but runs north-south from Shilu Donglu to Dawan, stopping at many trip generating points including Pingjiang New Town, Suzhou Railway Station, North Railway Station and Shilu Commercial Area. It is 42.0km in length and has 35 stations, taking 1h14 to complete the trip. In the north there is a 6.9km elevated stretch (5 stations). These stations have side platforms, half barriers, an arched, partly opened roof, and a rather dated feel. As with Line 1, this is a quite rudimentary offer.

Line 4 is the newest line on the system, opening in 2017. In the main, the line operates as a single ‘L’ shaped service from Longdaobang to Tongli (41.3km-1h07), with a 9.9km (16min) branch service operating from Hongzhuang to Muli (51.2km total). However, 1 in 4 trains from Longdaobang runs straight through to Muli. On the main corridor to Hongzhuang there are 7min headways and services operate from 0600-2300. The line is very busy and connects with Line 2 twice, Line 1 once and also visits two important transport hubs, Suzhou Railway Station and the Songling transport area. It also serves various new towns and commercial districts (e.g Nanmen). This line has a more modern feel with improvements in both stock and station. It uses 6-car CSR stock which has a brighter feel than the other lines and station ticket halls and platforms have more colour and different ceiling and pillar designs. This is very welcome in, what was, a very basic system (by Chinese standards). Transfer is easy and well signed and the whole experience of the line is positive and welcome.

Using the system is easy. Angular entrance porticos with small Totem lead down to ticket halls with several banks of nice ticket machines, security lines and customer service centres, many of which are empty. This area has station information boards with a much improved geographic map, locational map and a large system map around the entrance. A central lift is shouldered by two sets of stairs/escalators which deliver you to the very ends of island platforms where a fade line schematic is present. Broad pillars limit any chance of an open view of the platform and there is a cluttered feel to these areas, even on the new line. Signage is, as usual in China, very good. Platforms have full platform screens, small seating areas, RTI and, at the ends of platforms, a smaller version of the, rather erratic looking, schematic map. Tickets are card based and fares are distance based (2-8 Yuan). There is no hard copy information.

Line 4 has improved things in Suzhou, and services levels and coverage are good, but it remains a quite conventional system, especially when other systems are raising the bar.

Finally, the city has one other urban rail offer. At SAL, the Metro offers physical interchange to the recently expanded Suzhou SND Tram where stairs from the Metro station ticket hall lead directly to the tram platform. The tram runs on grassed segregated track at 7min headways from 0630 to 2200. Trams, with their flat gold scheme, are smart (CSR built) and the interior is fresh with a mix of side and paired seating.