Chongqing ‘Train On Your Doorstep’ Astonishes World Media

2017/03/22

Han Jing

Photos of a train going through a 19-story apartment building at the Liziba light rail station on Line 2 in southwest China’s Chongqing City have drawn headlines around the world.

The mountain city’s peculiar and complicated terrain intrigued various overseas media, as well as quite a few fellow Chinese citizens from other provinces.

"This is really impressive!"

"We Chinese are also astonished by this, let alone expats."

Foreign netizens applauded the innovative design of the station which was built 11 years ago, saying it highlight Chinese ingenuity.

But those Chongqing netizens who use the line say it’s really no big deal.

"The glamour of our city of Chongqing"

"I take this train to commute for four years every day. Why the fuss?"

"I wonder how they feel when they find road on the 11th floor at the city's Hongyadong. "

"GPS just doesn’t work in Chongqing."

Some netizens also showed concerns about possible noise caused by the trains.

The design team leader of the station said the noise level is very low as the train is supported by air suspension and equipped with gas-filled rubber wheels. The system does not radiate electromagnetic waves as the trains use direct current motors. Six light rail pillars stay 20 centimeters away from the building without causing the whole building vibrate.

The design and construction of the station and the residential building began at the same time. The whole design process took two years. Shops occupy the first five floors, apartments the ninth to nineteenth floors and the rail system the sixth to eighth floors.

Each floor covers an area of 3,500 square meters with a height of 3.6 meters. The station hall locates in the sixth floor, mechanical equipment in the seventh floor and platform in the eighth floor. A train goes a total of 132 meters through the building.

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Chongqing ‘Train On Your Doorstep’ Astonishes World Media

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