Is it a train? Is it a tram? Actually it’s both.
Opened on December 30, 2017, the Xijiao line uses the same fare system as other lines, but the transfer to Line 10 at Bagou is not free, and customers are required to pay a separate fare.
The Xijiao Line was designed to relieve some of the appalling traffic in the north western suburbs around Xiangshan and the Botanic Gardens.
Although you’ll be lucky ever to get a seat (each train has a capacity of 300 people and only 58 seats) , at least you can rush past the rest of the stationary traffic notching up a maximum 30kph (actually the top speed it quotes is a heady 70kph, but you'd never know it!). Most sections of the line are laid directly on the road, and the main intersections are passed through tunnels at an average speed of 20 kph!
Unfortunately the first week of operations was marred by three breakdowns within the space of 24 hours.
There is virtually no artwork whatsoever on this line, save for these glass screens...and every station along the route is virtually identical.
