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Interface News reporter | Zhang Xilong

The suspension of the first hydrogen-powered tram in China to be put into commercial operation has attracted attention. According to the "Gaoming Tram" official account, starting from August 6, the Gaoming Modern Tram Demonstration Line in Foshan City will be suspended, and equipment and facilities need to be arranged for maintenance.

The operating company of Gaoming Tram is Foshan Gaoming Modern Rail Transit Construction Investment Co., Ltd. (Gaoming Modern Rail Company). On August 9, a person from Gaoming Modern Rail Company told Jiemian News that they are currently conducting a systematic assessment and judgment, and a maintenance schedule will be available after the assessment results come out. "The equipment of the entire system has entered the maintenance period. The maintenance is for the track equipment, but not the trains."

Public information shows that the Gaoming Modern Tram Demonstration Line is the first urban rail transit project independently built and operated by Foshan City, and also the world's first commercially operated hydrogen-powered tram. It was put into operation in December 2019. The total investment of the project is 838 million yuan, and the total length is about 6.5 kilometers.

Jiemian News noticed that the Gaoming tram project no longer appears in the key projects of the Gaoming District Transportation Bureau's departmental budget in 2024. In the past four years, the Gaoming District Transportation Bureau has invested nearly 350 million yuan in fiscal expenditures on this project.

The "useless line" that was once suspended

Lin Li took a Gaoming tram in the evening of August 5, the day before the tram was suspended. "During the evening rush hour, there were only three or four people in the huge carriage, so suspension was inevitable," the Gaoming resident told Jiemian News.

The Gaoming tram starts from the intersection of Cangjiang Road and Zhongshan Road in the south and ends at Zhihu in Xijiang New City in the north. There are 10 stations along the entire route.

"The route is short, there are few stations, and it does not connect to other transportation hubs," Lin Li commented, calling this train a "useless route." "The first phase of the train's stations are mostly in the new city, and they are not very popular. If you really want to travel, this route does not go to the old city, and people living in the new city basically have private cars, so there is no need to take the tram."

Tram is a medium-capacity and fast transportation system between subway and bus. With the planning or construction of cities such as Guangzhou and Zhuhai, this transportation system has become another new term for public transportation after BRT.

But the Gaoming tram obviously did not play a good role in transportation. In this regard, Gaoming Modern Rail Company explained to Jiemian News that this line is not a commuter line, but a demonstration line. The so-called "demonstration role" is mainly reflected in the two aspects: first, it is an industrial demonstration of hydrogen fuel cells in the field of rail transportation, and second, it is a standard demonstration of the system and norms of the rail transportation system.

The Gaoming District Transportation Bureau once stated in its budget targets that after the completion of the project, it will connect Gaoming’s central urban area, Xijiang New City and Fuwan Science and Education Park, which is of great significance to optimizing Gaoming’s urban transportation, improving the quality of life, comprehensively enhancing the regional brand and competitiveness, and building a modern, high-end, first-class Xijiang New City.

But in fact, before the suspension of operation, Gaoming Tram was in a state of suspension. Due to the impact of the epidemic, the tram was suspended in February 2020, and the frequency was greatly reduced after it resumed operation at the end of May of the same year.

A reply from the Gaoming District Transportation Bureau shows that from January 1, 2023, the operating hours will be adjusted to 7:00-8:00 a.m. and 17:00-18:00 p.m. on weekdays, and 7:00-9:00 a.m. and 17:00-19:00 p.m. on holidays, with a driving interval of about 1 hour. This means that the tram will only run 4-8 times a day.

It was not until March this year that the frequency of Gaoming tram operations increased significantly. According to the latest departure schedule released by the "Gaoming Tram" official account, before the suspension of operation, the tram operated 19 trips per day on weekdays and 24 trips per day on weekends.

The above-mentioned person mentioned that before the suspension of operation, there were still 5 trains in operation.

Invested nearly 350 million yuan in fiscal subsidies

The soaring tram expenditure has also brought obvious financial pressure to Gaoming District.

Since 2020, the first phase of the Gaoming District Modern Tram Demonstration Line Project has been listed as a key project of the Gaoming District Transportation Bureau many times, with a budget of 4.5 million yuan for that year.

In 2021, the expenditure of the project soared to 100 million yuan. In the same year, the Gaoming District Transportation Bureau's expenditure budget was 201 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 61.8%. The Gaoming District Transportation Bureau explained that this was mainly due to the increase in expenditure on the modern tram demonstration line project. In 2022, the expenditure will still be 100 million yuan.

In 2023, the budget for Gaoming tram will further increase to 145 million yuan, and the proportion of total expenditure will also increase from about 50% two years ago to about 72%. The performance target for this year mentioned that the budget will be used to pay for the project feasibility gap subsidy and the costs of passenger flow verification, regular audits and other related work that Party A needs to carry out according to the contract.

In contrast to the huge financial subsidies is the small passenger flow and revenue. According to the Gaoming District Transportation Bureau, the total operating passenger flow in 2020 was 275,300, with an average daily passenger flow of 1,101; the average daily passenger flow in 2021 was about 578. The official has not released the average daily passenger flow after 2022.

Lin Li often takes her children on tram rides. "Including the crew, there are probably less than 10 people in all the carriages."

Calculated at a ticket price of 2 yuan, the revenue of Gaoming Tram in 2020 and 2021 is only 550,000 yuan and 420,000 yuan respectively. Compared with the construction cost and financial subsidies calculated in units of 100 million yuan, it is simply a drop in the bucket.

The Environmental Impact Report (draft for approval) for the first phase of the Gaoming District Modern Tram Demonstration Line Project released on the official website of Foshan Railway Investment and Construction Group Co., Ltd. in 2016 shows that after the completion of the first phase of the line, the passenger flow is expected to reach 20,000 passengers per day by 2020.

Regarding the passenger flow issue, people from Gaoming Modern Rail Company explained that the low passenger flow was caused by many factors. First, it encountered the 2020 epidemic shortly after its opening. Second, because it is a demonstration line and is not mainly used for commuting. Third, it is due to the construction of the subway.

The third reason can be traced back to the Foshan Metro. Gaoming Tram was planned to realize the same platform transfer with Foshan Metro Line 2 Phase II, so as to connect Gaoming District to Foshan's main urban area. However, the progress of Foshan Metro Line 2 Phase II is slow. From its opening to now, the tram has never been connected to the Foshan Metro network. In contrast, Foshan's other Nanhai Tram Line can connect with the Guangzhou-Foshan Line, thus ensuring passenger flow.

In 2024, the Gaoming District Transportation Bureau will no longer include trams in the key projects of the department's budget, and the overall budget will drop by 11.53% to 246 million yuan.

"The main reason is that we practiced strict economy this year and firmly established the idea of ​​living a 'tight life'. The general public budget expenditure arrangement has decreased compared with the previous year. At the same time, the government fund budget expenditure has also been reduced compared with the previous year." Gaoming District Transportation Bureau said.

The logic of industrial transformation behind trams

In May this year, there was a message asking whether the planned tram in Ronggui, Foshan would be suspended. The Transportation Bureau of Shunde District, Foshan City replied that the current trams generally have problems such as insufficient passenger flow and high maintenance costs, which still need further in-depth research. According to the actual development needs of Ronggui, the research on rail transit line setting plans will be promoted in a timely manner.

After several tram suspensions or losses, the construction of domestic trams has entered a cooling-off period. Previously, trams in Zhuhai, Zhangjiang, Shanghai, Tianshui, Gansu, and Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan all experienced "turnovers".

According to data released by the China Urban Rail Transit Association, as of the end of 2023, there were 23 cities in mainland China operating trams, with a total operating line length of 580.25 kilometers.

However, trams have never been mainstream in China. The "Research Report on Low-Capacity Urban Rail Transit Systems" released by the association shows that in recent years, the proportion of low-capacity systems in the total urban rail transit mileage has basically remained at around 6%. By the end of 2023, trams will account for 73.3% of the operating mileage of low-capacity systems.

The above-mentioned report shows that the average passenger traffic intensity of trams in various cities from 2019 to 2023 will be 892 passengers/km·day, 465 passengers/km·day, 582 passengers/km·day, 490 passengers/km·day and 889 passengers/km·day respectively. According to the requirement of the National Development and Reform Commission that "the initial passenger traffic intensity shall not be less than 0.1 million passengers/km·day", only 8 of the 29 tram lines meet the requirements, with a compliance rate of only 27.6%.

Many trams were expected to have more value than just transportation in the early stages of planning. For example, the Guangzhou Development and Reform Commission once said that trams could enhance Guangzhou's urban image.

For Foshan, a major manufacturing city that has been in the pain of transformation in recent years, the possibility of industrial transformation brought about by trams is an important factor prompting it to increase its bets.

The above-mentioned Gaoming Modern Rail Company personnel told Jiemian News, "The early positioning of this line is based on the transformation and upgrading of Foshan's industry (background), in order to promote the manufacturing level of the rail transit industry, and also as a demonstration project for the strategic deployment of the hydrogen energy industry."

Gaoming tram is the first hydrogen-powered tram in China to be put into commercial operation. However, hydrogen technology is not yet mature, and transportation and storage are difficult, which is also a problem that it has to face. When the Gaoming tram was tested on the track, the hydrogen in the car was replaced with nitrogen for safety reasons.

Regarding the effectiveness of promoting industrial transformation, the person believes that the main exploration is the institutional norms and technical standards of hydrogen rail transit systems. "The successful application of hydrogen fuel cells in the field of rail transit is also a kind of achievement," he mentioned.