Qingdao Metro Adds Drone Hubs to Operating Lines Qingdao Metro Deploys Industry-First Rail-and-Low-Altitude Integrated Stations

Qingdao Metro has recently embarked on an integrated development strategy combining rail transit and the low-altitude economy. Using the Shilaoren Bathing Beach, May Fourth Square and Maidao Qingdao Metro stations as pilot sites, the management has established some of the industry’s first rail-and-low-altitude integrated stations that upgrades the roofs of accessibility elevators at metro stations into automated drone docking platforms, pioneering a lightweight approach to low-altitude infrastructure through the reuse of existing facilities and further unlocking new productive potential in the low-altitude sector.

The upgrade marks the first time Qingdao Metro has installed drone docking stations on an existing operating line. By making innovative use of underutilized space at metro stations, the project has established a complete suite of low-altitude infrastructure entirely on existing structures to significantly cut both construction costs and deployment time. Following the upgrade, drones can take off and land autonomously, conduct intelligent patrols and transmit high-definition footage in real time with flight data simultaneously connected to a low-altitude flight management service centre to enable intelligent control of flights across the entire area.

Once the rail-and-low-altitude integrated stations are operational, their integrated drone docking platforms will support a range of low-altitude applications, including citywide monitoring, urban security and emergency response. They will conduct routine inspections of urban environments, land protection and coastal ecosystems and even provide emergency command teams with first-person aerial footage in events of emergencies such as flooding during the rainy season, sudden fires and crowd congestion during peak tourist periods to significantly shorten response times and strengthen the city’s overall urban governance capabilities. This will further demonstrate the value of integrating the two core business areas.

From underground rail lines to surface-level spaces and now the city’s low-altitude airspace, Qingdao Metro is continually expanding the dimensions of urban development through its integrated rail-and-low-altitude strategy with drone take-off and landing facilities being extended to metro depots and parking facilities in the near future as these functions are continually being integrated with public spaces such as urban parks and civic squares for the purpose of accelerating the formation of a citywide network of intelligent low-altitude infrastructure. With the city’s broader development priorities in mind, Qingdao Metro will use the construction of these pilot stations as a starting point to unlock new momentum for the low-altitude economy and pursue a path of high-quality, sustainable development driven by smart technology, green initiatives, integration and innovation to inject fresh momentum into Qingdao’s drive to become a modern international metropolis.

Source：english.qingdao.gov.cn