Optics Valley Suspended Monorail
The Optics Valley Suspended Monorail, also known as the Optics Valley Photon, is a driverless suspended monorail line located in Wuhan, Hubei, China. It is the first suspended monorail line in China, opening on September 26, 2023. The line has six stations and a total length of 10.5 kilometers, with plans for the line to be extended to a second phase with a total length of 26.7 kilometers and 16 stations.
The route runs along the 10-kilometer-long Optics Valley Ecological Corridor, an ecological corridor between 300 and 500 meters wide connecting Jiufengshan mountain in the north to Longquanshan mountain in the south. The railway is located in the southeast of Wuhan, in the Donghu New Technology Development Zone, also known as Guanggu or Optics Valley. The line was designed for both commuting and sightseeing.
History
On May 31, 2019, the Wuhan East Lake High-tech Zone Management Committee held a "Special Meeting on Optics Valley Central Ecological Corridor and Aerial Rail Concept Plan" to plan the construction of this line.In January 2020, the Administrative Committee held a special meeting to study the ecological corridor project, agreed in principle to the first phase of the Optics Valley Ecological Corridor Tourism Line Project line, station, and vehicle base planning plan, and requested that the piles be completed as soon as possible.
On November 22, 2021, Wuhan Optics Valley Transportation Construction Co., Ltd. and Wuhan Optics Valley Tourism Development Investment Co., Ltd. initiated an online vote on the vehicle name and appearance. On December 1, Optics Valley Transportation and Optics Valley Tourism Investment announced the voting results. The vehicles are named the "Optical Valley Photon" and the appearance design adopts the "Technology Wing Plan".
On August 26, 2022, the first Photon train rolled off the assembly line. On December 26 of the same year, it was tested at the Longquan Vehicle Base.
The entire line became open to traffic in early 2023, and comprehensive joint commissioning and testing will begin in February, with test rides starting on May 11. At 10:00 a.m. on September 26, 2023, the line was officially put into operation.