To help explain the expansion, we’ve created a breakdown. Firstly, we’ll look at two lines which only recently opened.

Line 14

Initially opening last summer, the second stage of Line 14 will extend south from Jintailu Station at Line 6, and connect with Shilihe Station on Line 10. The line will then head westward towards Beijing South Railway Station on Line 4. When the two sections are complete, a trip from Wangjing Station to Beijing South Railway will take just 45 minutes. However, there will still be no transfer point with the Airport Express Line.

Changping Line, Stage Two

The second stage of the Changping Line in the northwestern area of the city will add an additional six stations to the existing line that already connects with Line 8 and Line 13. The line will extend west, and include a stop at the Ming Tombs.

Western Suburb Line (Xijiao Line)

The Western Suburb Line will begin at Bagou Station on Line 10 (in the northwest) and serve as a feeder line towards suburbs to the west, making a stop at Fragrant Hill Park.

S1 Maglev Line

In the making since 2011, the Maglev line will start at Pingguoyuan Station on Line 1, and make its way south-west. Trains on the line are expected to handle as many as 1,032 passengers at once.

Yanfang Line

The Yanfang Line will be Beijing Metro’s first “unmanned subway”. Trains on the Yanfang Line are expected to reach 80 kilometers per hour and take 1,262 passengers at once.

Line 3, Stage One

Line 3 was neglected due to planning for Line 6, which took over Nanluoguxiang and Dongsi stations, both of which were originally planned for Line 3. Now that Line 6 is just about done, Line 3 is stepping out. The line will start its route at Dongsi Shitiao Station on Line 2. Heading north-east, the line will serve the eastern suburbs of Beijing, and will pass through Tuanjiehu Station, near the expat hotspot of Sanlitun.

Line 17

This north-south line will relieve pressure on Line 5. Line 17 will have a total of ten transfer stations, including Yong’anli Station on Line 1, Dongdaqiao Station on Line 6, and Taiyanggong Station on Line 10.

Airport Express for “Beijing New Airport” (South)

Although Beijing’s new airport doesn’t open until 2019, a new express line is expected to be unveiled soon that will connect the “Beijing New Airport” with the central subway network. The express line will serve the airport’s two terminals and then end in a transfer point at Caoqiao Station on Line 10 to the south of the city.

The 80 billion yuan investment will be located 46 kilometers away from Tian’anmen Square, and combined with the existing Beijing Airport, will serve 150 million passengers a year.

Line 8, Stage 3

This north-south line will also relieve pressure on Line 5. Stage 3 of Line 8 will start at Wangfujing Station on Line 1, head south to Qianmen Station on Line 2, then Dahongmen Station on Line 10, and then further to the south and east.

When complete, lucky Line 8 will serve as the central north-south axis of the Beijing Metro, similar to the way Line 1 is the central east-west axis for the network.

Line 12

This ambitious line will be 29 kilometers long and, with Line 13, will have the most transfer stations of any subway line. Line 12 will alleviate pressure on Line 2 and Line 10, running east-west just to the north of Line 2. It will make stops at Renmin University on Line 4, Dazhongsi Station on the west side of Line 13,  Anhuaqiao Station on Line 8, Heping Xiqiao Station on Line 5, Guangximen Station on the east side of Line 13, and also Sanyuanqiao Station on Line 10 and the Airport Express.

Fangshan Line, North Extension

Already in place, and serving as an extension to Line 9, the new Fangshan Line extension will continue four stations north of Guogongzhuang Station.

Line 19

Line 19 will start at Xingong Station on Line 4 to the south of the city, and then head up through Caoqiao Station on Line 10, Ping’anli Station on Line 4 and 6, and Jishuitan Station on Line 2 before continuing further to the north.

Line 19 is said to eventually be the fastest line in the city, reaching speeds in excess of 100 kilometer per hour.

Line 7, East Extension

With Line 7 currently operating just to the south of Line 2, this east-west line will open an extension to the east, continuing outward from the current terminal, Jiaohuachang Station.

Airport Express, Dongzhimen Extension

Beijing’s existing Airport Express will get an extension that will head westward from Dongzhimen Station towards Beixinqiao Station on Line 5.

Line 16

This north-south line will connect with the National Library Station on Lines 9 and 4, Muxidi Station on Line 1, and Daguanying Station on Line 7 before traveling to the western reaches of the city.

Line 6, Western Extension

Line 6 will continue to stretch east and west connecting to Pingguoyuan Station on Line 1. However, the extension will not connect with the rest of Line 6 at Haidianwuluju Station.

Pinggu Line

At 70 km long, the Pinggu Line is a completely above-ground subway, modeled on train lines used in the Pearl River Delta. Trains on the Pingu Line should reach speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour. Starting from Dongfeng Beiqiao Station on Line 14 in the city’s east, this suburban line will extend eastward before looping towards the north.

From the end of the line in the east, a commuter should be able to reach the center of downtown Beijing within one hour.

The post Here Are Beijing’s 15 New Subway Lines To Open This Year appeared first on The Nanfang.

Under the consolidation, commuters will be able to use the same smartcard on all subways and buses in Beijing, Tianjin, Langfang, Zhangjiakou, Baoding, and Shijiazhuang. All public transportation cards for the megacity are expected to be fully consolidated by 2017.

There have been no details on whether or not fares will be streamlined across all jurisdictions, and for now all fares remain the same.

Twenty-three new subway lines are planned for the megacity by 2030, with travel times between cities expected to take from one to two hours.

The post Beijing Transport Card Can Now Be Used in Tianjin and Hebei appeared first on The Nanfang.

The Shanghai Shentong Metro Group Company said the total number of stations on the Shanghai Metro will eventually reach 366, with a total network stretching some 617 kilometers long.

Sixteen of the new stations will appear on Line 12, nine of which are interchange stations. Nine new stations will appear on Line 13, while only two new stations will open on Line 11, the so-called “Disney Line” that is expected to provide full service to the amusement park and resort when it opens next year.

Another four new Metro lines will begin construction at the end of 2020 as well as extensions to five currently-existing lines.

The post Shanghai Metro Opened 27 New Stations Over The Weekend appeared first on The Nanfang.

The bracelet will be unveiled during a fashion show at the Zhongya Grand Mecure Hotel Shanghai. A lucky 50 of the 150 guests will receive a bracelet for free; the other 100 guests will be able to buy the bracelet at a discounted price. While the price of the bracelet or a photo of what it looks like has yet to be released, you can register to win a ticket for the November 24th unveiling here.

Transport cards are currently available from the Shanghai Metro in a variety of forms that include “mini” and “personalized” as well as being in a watch-form that commuters can wear around their wrist.

The Shanghai Metro has had tremendous problems with many of its commuters not paying fares in recent years. While the Shanghai Metro has looked to publicly shaming fare skippers, one such attempt in October backfired when a woman identified as a fare evader refuted the claim, eventually forcing the Shanghai Metro to rescind the accusation and issue a public apology.

The post Shanghai Metro Introducing “Smart” Fare Bracelets and Fitness Trackers appeared first on The Nanfang.

According to the Deputy Director of the Shanghai Urban Planning and Land Management Administration, Shi Jiaming, the new line “will share stations on some current subway lines to form a new ring route.” For example, Line 5 could be extended to Line 2 to create the southwestern part of the ring.

Although still in the planning stages, Shanghai expects to lay 930 kilometers of new subway track in its downtown core by 2040, and another 930 kilometers in the suburbs.

In just 22 years, Shanghai’s subway network has expanded to 14 subway lines, with 337 stations, and can be seen in this extraordinary GIF.

The post Shanghai Set for Huge Expansion of Subway Network appeared first on The Nanfang.

The eastern line will start at a bus terminal in Dongguan – as yet unnamed – and travel through the Huizhou South Railway Station, as well as Shuikou, Longhu and Danshui ending at the Shenzhen East Railway Station in Buji.

The western line will start at Chenjiang Station in Huizhou, and travel through Zhenlong and Xinxu, ending at Longgang District in Shenzhen.

Upon completion of the two lines, eastern Shenzhen will have an impressive eight Metro lines and two intercity railways.

Also in the works are plans for the Pinggu Railway station to serve as a transportation hub for Huizhou, Dongguan and the Longgang District of Shenzhen. Renovations have already begun, and are expected to be completed by year’s end.

The post Pearl River Delta Integration Ramps Up with New Integrated Railway Network appeared first on The Nanfang.

Shanghai’s busy morning rush hour was thrown into chaos yesterday when a power failure suspended service Metro Line 1 for over two hours.

In the midst of a heat wave that has hit the city with temperatures of 35 degrees Celsius, tens of thousands of commuters were left scrambling for alternative methods to commute to work, causing traffic jams throughout city streets.

The problem first appeared as a “power glitch” that reduced service between Shanghai South Railway Station and Shanghai Indoor Stadium Station on Line 1 at around 6am. However, service would come to a halt as a power outage trapped a train in a tunnel between Caobao Road Station and Shanghai Indoor Stadium Station in the city’s downtown core sometime around 7am.

After being trapped for 50 minutes, the 315 passengers eventually evacuated from the stalled train at around 8am.

The outrage shut down Line 1 subway service between Jinjiang Park Station and Xujiahui Station, a length of subway that provides service to four other lines. Full subway service was eventually restored at around 9am.

More than 100 shuttle buses were provided by Shanghai’s transport commission to ferry commuters stuck at Line 1 terminus station Xinzhuang to Xujiahui Station, where service to Line 1 was still available. However, shuttle buses weren’t able to cope with the masses of stranded commuters.

After Line 1 shut down, the impact upon surface routes was immediate. With the demand for car-sharing services said to have jumped threefold, traffic jams sprung up throughout Shanghai’s southern Minhang District after 7am, lasting for four hours.

Commuters had lots to be upset about including the delay, heat, crowds, and the inconvenience, but one other thing that irked subway passengers was how ill-equipped the Shanghai Metro was to deal with emergencies.

Commuters noted that the Shanghai Metro train forecasting system continued to operate without taking into account the shutdown of Line 1. As well, commuters complained the subway’s own text message notification system failed to inform subway passengers of the suspended service as they neared subway entrances.

If that wasn’t enough, this morning saw another delay in service on the Shanghai Metro. Line 9 is reported to have incurred a malfunction with a door, delaying service for a second day in a row.

Shanghai Shentong, which operates the metro, has offered its passengers a “letter of apology” with which they can explain their tardiness to their employers, with some subway passengers saying their morning commute took an extra two hours due to the power outage.

Shanghai Metro’s Line 1 is the city’s first and oldest subway line. It travels through many of the city’s most important transportation hubs including Shanghai Railway Station, People’s Square, and Xujiahui. Statistics released this year say the subway line is responsible for transporting 1.45 million passengers every day.

The post Morning Rush Hour Chaos in Shanghai as Power Failure Halts Subway Service appeared first on The Nanfang.

The station will be located at Beijing Worker’s Stadium, home of the Guo’an football team and close to many of the city’s expat bars and restaurants. Also intersecting the station will be Line 3, a planned east-west subway line.

Beijing Metro Line 17 will be Beijing’s longest-ever north-south route at 49.7 kilometers. Line 17 will be an express train that will reach speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour. It will pass through the districts of Tongzhou, Chaoyang, Dongcheng, and Changping.

Another feature of Line 17 is that ten of the line’s 20 stations will be transfer station. However, one line it won’t connect with is the airport express line.

Much as the way the Shanghai Metro has blossomed over a decade, Beijing still has a way to go before its infrastructure plans are completed. This year will see work being on Line 3, the eastern part of Line 7, Line 12, Line 17, Line 19, and the new Beijing airport to the south of the city.

Click here for a larger view of the map showing the future Beijing Metro.

The post New Subway Stop in Beijing Means You Can Finally Take the Train to Sanlitun appeared first on The Nanfang.

Here’s a GIF that helps illustrate it. Not pictured are future expansions that will connect the Shanghai Metro with the subway lines of Suzhou and Wuxi. As mind-blowing as this is, we should keep in mind that subway expansions like this are happening all over China.

And if this GIF inspires you to build an elaborate subway system of your own, you can always check out the game Mini Metro and become the urban planner you’ve always wanted to be.

[h/t That’s Online]

The post Crazy GIF Shows How Fast Shanghai’s Subway System Has Grown appeared first on The Nanfang.

A Shenzhen Metro tunnel under construction collapsed yesterday, trapping five workers and killing one. It happened yesterday on Shenzhen’s future Line 7, located between Fumin and Huanggang in Futian District at 4:10pm. Ten meters of tunnel collapsed, causing a three meter deep hole on the surface above. At the time of the incident, the five workers were changing the blades on the digging mechanism.

The trapped survivors were rescued by firefighters, with three requiring medical attention for their injuries. The last person to be rescued was freed at 11:35 last night.

The cause has not yet been determined. Nearly 50 residents living in houses above the cave-in have been evacuated from their homes as a safety precaution. Emergency repairs have been made as workers were later seen pouring cement into the hole on the surface.

This is not the first time construction on a subway tunnel in Shenzhen has led to a collapse.

This past February, a huge sinkhole that appeared in Luohu District was suspected to be due to construction for the Shenzhen Metro Line 9. Last November, a tunnel under construction for Line 7 caused a road to collapse near Fumin Road and Yitian Road. Last October, construction on Yinhu Station on Metro Line 9 led to yet another collapse.

Up until yesterday’s tragedy, no tunnel collapses in Shenzhen have involved any fatalities.

Despite this frequency, the building of the Shenzhen Metro has been criticized for improper safety protocols as far back as 2013. In July of that year, a tunnel for Line 9 collapsed, trapping seven workers and later prompting criticism that construction for the subway tunnels was using inferior building materials and work procedures.

Subway tunnel collapses have also been occurring throughout China. Over the past year, subway tunnels that have collapsed during construction killed one person in Shenyang last month, and another in Nanning last October. As well, Beijing suffered one such incident last March.

The post Shenzhen Metro Tunnel Collapses… for the 4th Time This Year appeared first on The Nanfang.