I went to Caojiawan Station (yes that "ghost" one) in Chongqing and was not greeted by an empty station with barren fields overgrown with weeds but beginnings of dense mixed-use Chinese suburbia. (Older pic not mine) A 🧵of my visit. (1)
The actual Caojiawan Station looks to be used by people. (2)
Just people going about their day at Chongqing Metro Caojiawan Station. (3)
Sidenote, they forgot to update the local area map, it's still an old one showing barren fields around the station. (4)
Outside Exit 1 of Chongqing Metro Caojiawan Station (old pic not mine) tho on the right side of my pic is a wall of hoarding covering the plot of land that is still an active construction site. (4)
Exit 1 of Chongqing Caojiawan Station has a large number of minibus routes to neighboring villages and residential estates as feeder services into the station. Some minibuses are quite packed. (1st pic) Minibuses keep rolling in and discharging passengers. (2nd pic) (5)
Also huge amounts of Share bikes and E-bikes were parked out in the back of Caojiawan Station Exit 1 as well as illegally parked private cars, probs doing some park and ride. (6)
Then on to Caojiawan Station Exit 2, which has a number of high-density mixed-use developments completed and occupied adjacent to it (old pic not mine) (7)
The complex adjacent Chongqing Metro Caojiawan Station Exit 1 has a number of tall towers on a pedestrian permeable muiltfloor mall. (8)
Deeper into the mall outside of Chongqing Metro Caojiawan Station Exit 1, I find a LAWSON Konbini! (9)
As I pass through the mall, behind the mall complex is a sea of residential towers and shops that Chongqing Metro Caojiawan Station now serves. (10)
I was hungry from seeing all the development, so I went back to the LAWSON Kombini to get Omu-risu ready-made meal because I'm basic. However, the Kombini's eating area was filled with patrons so I was forced to sit outside of Chongqing Metro Caojiawan Station for my meal. (11)
I leave everyone with a mural in the area around Caojiawan Station celebrating how Chongqing was/currently is by in large built and shaped by the Chongqing Metro and for the Chongqing Metro... (12)
... Despite what some news sources comment about how China does TOD and urban development. Some of those news sources forget they also did these things in the past. Maybe they're mad they no longer have the capability to pull it off these days? Pics from NYCT Museum (13)
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Initially, I thought: "Hey that's pretty bad." but the more I look into it and thought about it on my way home (on the MTR of course), I start to see the method in the madness. A 🧵summarizing my thoughts. Let me know if I'm on the right track or on the wrong train.
A backgrounder: My friend RT’ed here observed (correctly) that an MTR station named Yau Ma Tei (YMT) has only one escalator evacuating the lowest level of the station that serves the Kwun Tong Line (KTL) that empties into the middle level serving the Tsuen Wan Line (TWL)...
...and both TWL and KTL passengers leaving YMT as well as passengers transferring from NB TWL to SB KTL are forced to use that one set of escalators. While in the current YMT station config the other two sets of escalators serving both the TWL KTL are set to move passengers ...
Beijing released its transportation plan for the next 5 to 10 years. Some interesting things are being worked on. Of course, being me I will focus on the public transport side. Please indulge me in this🧵. beijing.gov.cn/gate/big5/www.…
(1) The biggest surprise (and most exciting) for me is the network improvement projects. Parts of Line 1 and Batong east of Guomao CBD will be Quad-tracked for express-local service. Additionally, this section will have its 6 car platforms rebuilt to support 7 car trains.
(2) Line 5 will also have its platforms expanded to go from 6 car trains to 7 car trains. Its signal system will be upgraded to allow for more frequent headways. Most likely up to 34 TPH (105s headways) like those seen in Line 1 today after upgrades.