Line 14 (Guangzhou Metro)

Line 14 of the Guangzhou Metro is a rapid transit line serving the city of Guangzhou. Like Line 21, Line 14 is a rapid suburban metro line envisioned to promote development in Guangzhou's northeast regions. Unlike other Guangzhou Metro lines, Line 14 contains passing loops at some stations to allow for express service between the city center and the outlying district of Conghua. Trains on Line 14 reach a maximum service speed of 120 km/h, allowing for passengers to travel from outer Guangzhou to the city center in one hour. Line 14 actually consists of two independent services - a mainline which opened on December 28, 2018, connecting in Baiyun to  in Conghua and a shuttle branch referred to as the Knowledge City Line, which runs from  in Baiyun to  in Huangpu. Passengers can use a cross-platform interchange to transfer between the Line 14 mainline and the Knowledge City Line at Xinhe station. An extension south to Guangzhou railway station is currently under construction, with long-term plans to separate the Knowledge City branch into its own line as Line 27.

Planning
The rough route now served by Line 14 was first proposed in the 1987 "Cross Line Network" plan as part of the then-proposed Line 2. Portions of the route were designated for subway lines in both the 1997 and 2003 plans as well. The current version of Line 14 was first proposed in the 2008 long term plan, following the Guangcong route of the old Line 9 and the airport route of the old Line 2. After Taihe, it continued southward, passing through Jiahe and Xinshi, ultimately terminating at Guangzhou Railway Station. The line was split in two phases for construction with Jiahewanggang as the dividing point, both of which were submitted for approval and built separately.

In 2010, in order to implement Guangzhou City's "Northern Excellence" development strategy and support the regional development of Conghua and Knowledge City, the "Guangzhou Rail Transit Construction Plan for 2011-2015 and the 2020 Planning Plan Announcement" proposed the construction of the first phase of Line 14 and branch lines. At that time, the Knowledge City branch line ran from Xinhe Station to Knowledge City South Station with three stations along the way, which was later extended to Zhenlong to facilitate a connection to Line 21. On August 13, 2012, the second environmental assessment of Line 14 Phase I was released with the main line serving 13 stations, including 6 underground stations and 7 elevated stations. Initially, the main line and branch lines of the first phase of Line 14 were planned to start construction in 2011 and be opened to traffic in 2015, however initial construction was delayed. According to the approval document from the National Development and Reform Commission, the main line was planned to start construction between 2013 and 2017, while the construction of the Knowledge City line would be dependent on the degree of surrounding development.

Construction
On August 13, 2012, the Ministry of Environmental Protection published the second environmental impact report. In April 2013, Taihe Station was changed from elevated to underground, and the parking lot originally located near Dongping Station was changed to be connected to Taihe Station. In March 2014, the first phase of Line 14 and the Knowledge City branch line were approved by the Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission to start construction. Tunnel boring began in March 2015. In May 2017, the main structure of Zhenlong Station was finished, marking the completion of structural construction of all stations on the Knowledge City branch line. On May 28, tunnel boring from Xinnan Station to Fengxia Station was finished, marking the completion of the entire tunnel of the Knowledge City branch line. On August 22, all tracks of the Knowledge City Line were successfully completed. On November 2, the main structure of Jiekou (now Dongfeng Station), the largest station in the first phase of Line 14, was completed. On January 30, 2018, the main structure of Zhongluotan Station was finished, marking the completion of the main structure project of all stations in the first phase of the main line. On May 8, tunnel boring from Jiekou Station (now Dongfeng Station) to Jiangpu Station (now Conghua Passenger Terminal) was completed.

Line 14 was constructed alongside major works on Xinguangcong Road. Original plans had the construction of the metro occurring after completion of roadway reconstruction, however delays in starting the roadway project led to Line 14 being constructed first. Xinguangcong Road was fully open to traffic in June 2021, four years after completion of Line 14.

Chronology
The first stage of Line 14 to begin service was the section between Xinhe and Zhenlong, now known as the Knowledge City Line. It opened on December 28, 2017 as a standalone line separate from the rest of the system. The current mainline section between Jiahewanggang and Dongfeng opened a year later on December 28, 2018. Current projections have phase 2 opening in 2024.

Phase 2 Southern Extension
The second phase of Line 14 extends the mainline south to Guangzhou Railway Station from Jiahewanggang. The extension is about 11.74 km long, and is entirely underground with 8 new stations. It will have shorter station spacing than the rest of the mainline in order to better serve denser areas closer to the city center, with an average station spacing of 1.46 km. The electrical substation at Baiyun Cultural Square will be expanded to meet the necessary power requirements.

This section received project approval by the National Development and Reform Commission in late March 2017, with the work feasibility report approved in early January 2018. A groundbreaking ceremony occurred on November 19, 2018, with official construction beginning shortly later. On June 30, 2019, the first tunnel boring machine departed south from the Jiahewanggang Station construction site. Construction delays have pushed back the estimated completion date to 2024.

Knowledge City Line
Current long-term plans have the Knowledge City Line splitting off from Line 14 to be its own standalone route, Line 27. These plans include a southeastern extension from Zhenlong down past Xinsha on line 13 and crossing the Dongjiang river into Dongguan.

Service Patterns
Line 14 currently hosts 3 separate service patterns:


 * — Local: Mainline local services, stop at every stations on mainline
 * — Express: Mainline limited express services, stopping at Jiahewanggang, Baiyun Dongping, Xinhe, Conghua Coach Terminal, Dongfeng
 * — : Knowledge City branch line service operating independently from mainline services

Stations

 * L - local services
 * R - rapid express services
 * BL - branch line local services