Line 11 (Guangzhou Metro)

Planning

In 1997 the "Guangzhou City Rapid Rail Transit Network Planning Study (Final Report)" proposed ring line 5 as an alternative to the B program. It followed a closed loop roughly along Newport Road, Changgang Road, Fangcun Avenue, Huangsha Avenue, Huanshi Road and the current Guangzhou New Central Axis. However, the final recommendation was for the A-ring program, so it was not adopted.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008, a new round of rail transit network planning again proposed a loop line. Again, there were two options, a smaller 35.5 km (22.1 mi) loop or a larger 40 km (25 mi), which would cross the Pearl River once more to serve the Baietan area in Fangcun. Both would serve the two railway stations (Guangzhou and Guangzhou East) and were proposed to take over Line 8 as the southern part of the loop.^[4]

In 2009, plans had evolved to an "extra large" loop line. This largely followed the 2008 large loop plan, however the southern section was realigned further south, no longer taking over the tracks of Line 8.^[5] In 2010, this plan gained traction, being added to the 2011-2015 Rail Transit Construction Plan as Line 11.^[6]

In 2013, as part of a feasibility study for the line, three more stations (Zhoumen, Shangchong and Huangpuchong) were proposed to be added to the 32 from previous plans.^[7] By the end of the year, it was committed to adding Shangchong only as well as removing the station at Ruibaoxiang, keeping the station count at 32. At the same time, the line was also realigned reduce environmental impact on Baiyun Mountain and Haizhu Wetland.^[8]

In December 2015, it was revealed due to opposition by local residents and therefore difficulties in land acquisition, Yuexiu District had suggested that city authorities cancel the station at Tianxincun. However, in September 2016 it was announced the station would proceed as planned.^[9] In September 2024, with all efforts to acquire land for the station having failed, Guangzhou Metro announced the station had been cancelled.^[10]

In 2014, it was realised that as Line 21 was progressing much faster than Line 11, an important interchange between the two lines at Tianhe Park would be unavailable when Line 21 opened. To resolve this, it was decided to have the section of Line 11 between Tianhe Park and Yuancun be built as part of Line 21, and Line 21 would provide service on this section until Line 11 was ready.^[11]

Construction

Line 11 received planning approval in July 2015, allowing construction to begin.^[12] Construction finally started on 28 September 2016 at Hedong East station, but it was reported further delays were expected at a number of other sites due to difficulties with land acquisition.^[13]

The main structure of Yuntai Garden station was completed on 28 November 2019, the first on Line 11.^[14]

With construction 98% complete, the aforementioned Tianhe Park - Yuancun section was closed on 2 October 2024 to be connected to Line 11.^[11]

The full circle line, excluding the national railway interchange stations at Guangzhou East Railway Station and Guangzhou Railway Station (for overhauls of these two railway stations), opened on 28 December 2024. Guangzhou East Railway Station opened on 29 September 2025.^[15] The opening date of Guangzhou Railway Station has not yet been determined due to cooperation with railway station renovation requirements.

Opening timeline

Timetable

As Line 11 is a circular line, services are branded as "inner circle" (clockwise) or "outer circle" (anticlockwise). Station signage also shows a "midpoint station" for each direction, which is the last station where it is faster to use that direction.^[16]

The full loop is timetabled for 75 minutes, with headways around 5m 22s (weekday peak), 7m 30s (weekday offpeak) and 6m 15s (weekend peak). Generally trains operate continuously around the loop, except for the start and end of peak periods, where trains may start or end at Chisha or Longtan stations.^[16]

Rollingstock

Due to the large number of connections and destinations, the line is expected to have a ridership of over 1.2 million passengers per day.^[17] To cope with the projected high demand, engineers designed the line to be the second in the system to use high-capacity 8-car wide-body type A trains.^[18]

In 2020, all Line 8 trains were moved out of Chisha depot to a new depot at Baiyun Lake,^[19] allowing construction to start on a link from the southern end of the depot to Line 11 between Chisha and Longtan stations.^[20] The first train for Line 11 was delivered to the newly renovated depot on 2 January 2024.^[21]