The ridership of Shenzhen’s Metro network hit 9.33 million passenger trips Friday, surpassing the 9-million mark for the first time and setting a new record for single-day ridership in the city’s Metro history.

This record also indicated that Shenzhen Metro’s ridership density, reaching 17,000 passengers per kilometer, has reclaimed its top position among cities with Metros in China. Shenzhen is the fourth city in China, following Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, to exceed the 9-million passenger mark.

Data showed that lines 10, 11, 12, 14 and 16 all experienced record-breaking ridership Friday.

Since the end of June, Shenzhen Metro has witnessed a steady increase in ridership. From June 26 to June 30, the network averaged 8.03 million daily passengers trips on workdays. The number further rose to a daily average of 8.67 million between July 3 and Friday.

Shenzhen Metro Group, the operator of the Metro network, attributes the rise in ridership to the summer vacation and a grand concert held at Longgang Universiade Sports Center on Friday.

In another development, HKMTR Shenzhen, the operator of Line 4, has introduced self-service ticketing machines (STMs) at the stations between Qinghu North and Niuhu stations to help QR code users check riding and ticketing information, and handle situations such as being unable to enter or leave the paid areas.

Other stations along Line 4 will also replace staff services with STMs, Automatic Ticket Vending Machines and Shenzhentong Self-service Terminals.

Currently, Shenzhen boasts 16 operational Metro lines that cover a distance of 547.3 kilometers. Its Phase V Metro projects, which began construction at the end of June, will add 11 new lines spanning 185.6 kilometers to the network.