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The city of Chongqing (formerly Chungking) lies in the centre of China on the Yangtze River. It has a population of 4.4 million, with approx. 10 million in its metropolitan area.

The first Chongqing Monorail line - from Jiaochangkou to Dongwuyuan (13 stations, 13.5 km) - opened in June 2005. This is Line 2 in the overall system planned for Chongqing. Construction had started at the end of 1999.

The elevated line starts at Jiaochangkou in the central district and ends at Xinshancun in the west industrial centre. The total length wil be 17.4 km and there will be 17 stations. In the long term, the line will be extended to Fengshouba, about 6.2 km, and Zhongliangshan. 2.2 km of the line will be underground, the remaining 15.2 km elevated. 3 stations will be underground, 2 at ground level and 12 elevated. Due to be completed by 2005, the monorail will be capable of carrying 30,000 passengers per hour at peak times. The project will be carried out in 3 stages:

The second stage (Dongwuyuan to Xinshancun) opened in July 2006. Line 2 is now 19.15 km long with 18 stations.
The third stage: Xinshancun - Fengshouba.

Trains are built by Changchun Rail Company and Hitachi.

18 June 2005 - Line 2 Jiaochangkou - Dongwuyuan
01 July 2006 - Line 2 Dongwuyuan - Xinshancun

 Projects

(Thanks to Felix Nikitin)

Total length - 130 km. Three lines are to begin work before 2010 with 2 lines in an east-west direction and one in a north-south direction. These will provide a total track length of about 50 km and a network of 45 stations. The network will be a mix of light rail, monorail and underground rail lines.

Line "1" (underground line): Chaotianmen - Shapingba
In planning since 1988. Of the 13 stations, three will be above ground, the rest underground. Four-axle underground carriages will be used, initially with 4 trains marshalled at 3 minute intervals, with the passenger capacity of 19,000 passengers/hour. In the long term there will be 5 trains marshalled at 2 minute intervals with a capacity of 36,000 passengers per hour. The Chongqing government signed a BOT contract in 1992 with a Hong Kong company, and provided the land for the project. The line is due to run from Chaotianmen (passenger port) at the east end of the central district to Shapingba in the west. The line will be 16.41 km, with 13 stations. In the long term it will be extended to Shuangbei, a further 6.2 km. Work on the project stopped in 1997 and the Chongqing government has yet to resolve outstanding legal issues with the company concerned. While the Chongqing government is keen to attract new overseas interest in the project, this seems unlikely until legal issues (particularly over land ownership) have been resolved. There is interest in retaining this as a BOT project once reactivated.

Urban Rail Line "3" (underground): Shigongli - Tongjiayuanzi
This line will run in a north-south direction, starting at Shigongli on the south bank of the Yangtze, crossing the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers to Tongjiayuanzi (14 km) and may be extended to Xiaoshiba in the long term. The total length is 16.6 km. 10.2 km will be in tunnels and 6.4 km elevated. 14 stations are planned. It will use combined road/rail bridges to span the Yangtze (1.15 km) and Jialing Rivers (0.5 km).

Urban Rail Line "4": Siqiaopu - Changshengqiao
The line will run north-south from Siqiaopu to Changshengqiao, a length of 19.3 km. Of this, 8.4 km will be underground (mainly in the stretch north of the Yangtze), and 10.9 km will be elevated track (including over the Ergongyan Bridge). There will be 14 stations. This line will use four-axle carriages, and the Ergongyan Bridge has been constructed with the track in mind. It will pass through two junctions (Shiqiaopu and Shigongli), and the three underground lines in the city will be connected to it to form a complete network. Construction scheduled after 2010.

Urban Rail Line "5" (Light Rail Line): Tongjiayuanzi - Zhongliangshan
Runs from Chongqing New Station in the northern urban area (Tongjiayuanzi), ends at Zhongliangshan, a total length of 28.6 km. Of this there will be 8.6 km underground (mainly in the Shapingba section), 20 km elevated track (including over the Shimahe Jialing River Bridge). There will be 18 stations. In the long term the line will be extended northwards to Jiangbei Airport (about 14 km) and southwards to Xinshancun (about 6 km). It will join up with Jiaochangkou to Xinshancun Light Rail to form an elevated light rail line, with a total length of approximately 62 km. Construction scheduled to start after 2010.

See map with planned lines

07:00 - 22:00, every 8-9 min peak hours, 12 min other times.

Fare is according to distance 2-4 Yuan.

Chongqing Monorail's official website

Chongqing Monorail Map at Johomaps