Recently, the Harbin New District Intelligent Rail Express System Line 1 project has started construction.

The Smart Rail Line 1 project has a total length of 18.2 kilometers and is equipped with 10 trains, with a full capacity of 307 bicycles and three carriages in one train. The project has 1 vehicle depot and 11 platform buildings, and 7 platform buildings for the first phase of the project. The 11 platforms are Baoneng City Station, Tellhow Xijiangyue Station, Shimao Lanyu Station, Holland City Station, North Shore Pearl Station, University of Commerce Station, Harbin Grand Theater Station, Northeast Tiger Forest Park Station, R & F City Station, Northeast Asia International Trade Center Station, Provincial Discipline Inspection Cadre Academy Station. Heading from west to east, passing Shimao Avenue, Songbei First Road, Xuehai Street to Zhongyuan Avenue.

The general vehicle depot is located at the intersection of Shimao Avenue and Planning Road 212, covering an area of 22,000 square meters. The main buildings include parking garages, maintenance warehouses and administrative buildings, with a total construction area of about 16,800 square meters.

According to Xu Xiaodong, deputy director of the Harbin New Area Transportation Bureau, the "smart rail" trains in the new area run in the middle of the road, and 11 platforms are also built in the middle of the road. There are charging devices at the first and last stations, charging for 10 minutes, and the mileage of the train can reach 30 kilometers.

It is reported that the Smart Rail Line 1 project is listed as one of the top 100 projects in Heilongjiang Province, the urban construction project in Harbin City, and the top ten livelihood projects in Songbei District. It consists of four parts: project initiation, vehicle and mechanical and electrical procurement, vehicle depot and platform infrastructure projects, personnel training and supporting regulations. The construction started this time including the maintenance warehouse of the general vehicle depot and 7 platforms. It is expected that the main construction of the 7 platforms will be completed by the end of 2020, and 4 trains will arrive in Kazakhstan for debugging.

Because there is no need to lay physical tracks, the construction period of a smart rail line only takes one year, can be put into use quickly, and the total construction cost is much lower than that of the subway and light rail. In addition, smart rail trains also have the zero-emission and pollution-free characteristics of light rail and subway trains, and support multiple power supply methods. In 2019, smart rail trains passed 13 tests involving low-temperature environments and icy and snowy road conditions in Harbin. The test results showed that smart rail trains are capable of operating in extreme climates in the northern cold regions. Editor/He Yuting