The first phase of Nanning Rail Transit Metro Line 5 starts officially operating on Dec 17. [Photo by Yu Jing/China News Service]

The first phase of Nanning Rail Transit Metro Line 5 started official operation on Dec 17, and is Guangxi's first fully-automated rail transit line, making the capital of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region China's seventh city to house such lines.

The 20.2-kilometer metro line has 17 stations from Guokai Dadao to Jinqiao Coach Station and functions as a southwest-northeast arterial line in Nanning.

The design and construction of the whole line adhere to the standards of the level-4 grade of automation (GoA4) and new technologies such as fully automatic operation systems, building information modeling (BIM) and smart stations have been applied.

Locals experience Nanning Rail Transit Metro Line 5. [Photo by Yu Jing/China News Service]

Twenty-four trains operate on the line with a maximum speed of 80 km per hour. Each train has 232 seats and can accommodate up to 2,080 passengers.

Two smart pilot stations on the line, namely the Guangxi University and Xiaojicun stations, are able to provide efficient and convenient smart services for passengers. They can adjust equipment such as lighting and broadcasting equipment and elevators according to passenger flow. 

A man interacts with a smart inquiry robot at the metro station. [Photo by Yu Jing/China News Service]

The passenger handling capacity of Nanning's metro lines is estimated to account for 59.5 percent of Nanning's total public transportation passengers in 2021, making metro lines more important to the city's public transport network. 

广西开通首条全自动运行地铁线路

南宁地铁5号线16日正式开通试运营，市民乘车体验感受智能地铁通行服务。

当天，南宁轨道交通5号线一期工程（以下简称“轨道交通5号线”）对外开通试运营，该地铁线是广西首条全自动运行的地铁线路。至此，南宁成为全国第七个开通全自动运行地铁线路的城市。

据南宁轨道交通集团介绍，此次开通的轨道交通5号线全长20.2公里，共设17座车站，线路南起国凯大道站，北至金桥客运站，是联系南宁西南-东北方向的骨干线。该线路采用GOA4等级设计与建设，并运用了全自动运行系统、BIM技术、智慧车站等新技术，共配置列车24列，设计最高行车速度为80公里/小时，列车座席232个，定员载客1464人，最大载客量可达2080人，同时在广西大学站和小鸡村试点建设智慧车站，为广大市民提供高效、便捷的智慧化服务。

南宁地铁5号线在工程建设和运营管理上坚持创新突破，5号线采用国内首台气垫式直排双模盾构机，顺利下穿老旧建筑群、邕江泥岩地层及既有运营线路，攻克了全自动运行地铁建设模式新、安全要求高的工程难点。智慧车站系统实现实时统计分析车站客流情况，自动调整照明、广播、电梯以及自动售检票等系统设备，帮助客运人员应对客流高峰。

2021年，南宁地铁客运量占南宁市公共交通客运量约59.5%，客流明显增加，以轨道交通为骨干的城市公共交通体系日益明显。