Shanghai Metro Tops 900km as Line 18 Extension Opens on Dec 27

A view of Tongnan Road station on Shanghai's Metro Line 18 Phase II ahead of its opening on December 27.

The Phase II of Metro Line 18 opened to the public on December 27, marking the first time the city's operational Metro network has exceeded 900 kilometers.

The extension stretches from South Changjiang Road to Kangwen Road in the southern part of Baoshan District, cutting travel time between the two endpoints to roughly 15 minutes.

Five underground stations opened on Saturday: Tongnan Road, West Changjiang Road, Aihui Road, Hulan Road, and Kangwen Road. A sixth station, South Jiangyang Road, has completed construction and passed safety inspections but will remain temporarily closed due to ongoing nearby municipal construction projects.

The opening fills a long-standing east-west transit gap in northern Shanghai's Metro network. At South Changjiang Road, where Line 18 connects with Line 3, passengers can travel further eastward to Pudong. The extension also provides a direct, in-station transfer to Line 1 at Hulan Road Station.
During weekday rush hours, some Line 18 trains will operate on short-turn routes to align with passenger demand. Outside peak hours and on weekends, all trains on the line will run the full route between Hangtou Station and Kangwen Road Station.
All five newly-opened stations use always-open fare gates, allowing passengers to enter and exit by tapping transit cards, bank cards or scanning QR codes.
With the launch of Line 18 Phase II, Shanghai now operates 21 Metro lines, spanning 906 kilometers with 523 stations. Shanghai and Beijing are now the only two cities in China with Metro networks exceeding 900 kilometers.

Source: City News Service