Category Archives: cities

Access all areas: disabled and elevator access information, now in our Shanghai iPhone app

Many residents and visitors to Shanghai have limited mobility. Whether you use a wheelchair, or are using a stroller, the good news is that many stations on the Shanghai Metro have accessible lifts/elevators. We’ve now made this information available in our iPhone app in the “tips” section. Simply select “Tips” for any station, and look for the blue wheelchair icon.

 

iOS Simulator Screen shot 9 Jan 2014 00.13.06We’ve sourced this information directly from the Shanghai Metro company, so there may be some errors or omissions. The tips are also available on the “Metropedia” pages, for example Xintiandi. Let us know if you have any feedback or suggestions on how to make this information better!

We added this feature as a direct result of a suggestion on our feedback forum – so please feel free to make other suggestions on the forum, it really does help!

Exit strategy: new information on exits for the Shanghai Metropedia

We’ve added a new feature to the Metropedia pages for the Shanghai Metro. You can now see basic exit information, so you can check which road to exit onto. Here’s an example for South Shaanxi Road:

Screenshot 2014-01-08 23.40.53

This is a test for now, so you’ll only see the exit data for Shanghai, and only for English. We’ll be looking at improved ways to show this information in our mobile apps too. Let us know if you have any feedback!

Guangzhou Metro Line 6 opens

Guangzhou Metro Line 6 has opened to passengers. The new line runs from Xunfenggang in Baiyun District, through Liwan and Yuexiu, and terminates at Changban in Tianhe District. There are new interchanges with Line 5 at Tanwei, Line 1 at Huangsha, Line 2 at Haizhu Square, Line 1 at Dongshankou, and Line 3 at Yantang and Tianhe Coach Terminal.

Here’s a preview of the new line:

guangzhouHere’s the full list of new stations

  • Xunfenggang 浔峰岗
  • Hengsha 横沙
  • Shabei 沙贝
  • Hesha 河沙
  • Tanwei 坦尾
  • Ruyifang 如意坊
  • Huangsha 黄沙
  • Culture Park 文化公园
  • Yide Lu 一德路 (closed)
  • Haizhu Square 海珠广场
  • Beijing Lu 北京路
  • Tuanyida Guangchang 团一大广场
  • Donghu 东湖
  • Dongshankou 东山口
  • Ouzhuang 区庄
  • Huanghuagang 黄花岗
  • Shaheding 沙河顶
  • Shahe 沙河 (closed)
  • Tianpingjia 天平架
  • Yantang 燕塘
  • Tianhe Coach Terminal 天河客运站
  • Changban 长湴

Updates to our online map, iOS and Android apps will be available soon!

 

 

Beijing Subway Line 8 gets longer

Beijing Subway’s Line 8 is scheduled to receive two extensions this December! The northern extension connects Line 8 with the Changping Line, with a cross-platform interchange at Zhuxinzhuang. There are new stations at Pingxifu and Yuzhilu.

Screenshot 2013-12-23 07.52.16

The southern extension adds three stations at Shichahai, Nanluoguxiang (now an interchange with Line 6), with the terminal station at National Art Museum.
Screenshot 2013-12-23 07.52.32

 

In the future (by around 2017), Line 8 will continue futher south, through Wangfujing, Qianmen and beyond.

Meanwhile, interchanges between Line 1 and Line 9 are now possible at Military Museum station.

Beijing Subway expert David Feng reports that interchange times are around 5 minutes for Line 1 to Line 9 and 8-10 minutes from Line 9 to Line 1. The interchange passageway is well-lit with wide corridors, but includes steep stairs!

military-museum

 

Updates to our online map, iPhone and Android apps will be available soon!

Shanghai Metro Line 12: Cruise Control

It’s that time of year again, when metro systems in China prepare to open new lines. We’re expecting two brand new lines to open in Shanghai in late December 2013: Line 12 and Line 16. Today we’re previewing Line 12.

Line 12 will eventually pass all the way through the city center, from Pudong to Minhang, but for now the Phase 1 contains 15 stations. Phase 1 starts at Tiantong Road on Line 10, one stop north of East Nanjing Road. It heads west along the North Bund, passing the new International Cruise Terminal, and interchanges with Line 4 at Dalian Road. It then continues east with six more stations in Puxi, before crossing the river and intersecting with Line 6 at Jufeng Road. The final terminus is Jinhai Road in Pudong, which will eventually be a interchange with Line 9.

In around May 2014, the line will also be extended by one line to the west to interchange with Line 8 at Qufu Road.

The full list of stations is:

  • Tiantong Road 天潼路
  • International Cruise Terminal 国际客运中心
  • Tilanqiao 提篮桥
  • Dalian Road 大连路
  • Jiangpu Park 江浦公园
  • Ningguo Road 宁国路
  • Longchang Road 隆昌路
  • Aiguo Road 爱国路
  • Fuxing Island 复兴岛
  • Donglu Road 东陆路
  • Jufeng Road 巨峰路
  • North Yanggao Road 杨高北路
  • Jinjing Road 金京路
  • Shenjiang Road 申江路
  • Jinhai Road 金海路

Line 12 is labelled dark green on the map:

Screenshot 2013-12-14 16.10.25

Our metro maps online, for Android and iPhone will be updated as soon as the new line opens (around December 28th, 2013).

Shanghai Metro Line 16: the Dishui Lake Express

It’s that time of year again, when metro systems in China prepare to open new lines. We’re expecting two brand new lines to open in Shanghai in late December 2013: Line 12 and Line 16.

Today we’re previewing Line 16. Line 16 is entirely in Pudong, and currently connects Luoshan Road station, at the end of Line 11, with Dishui Lake, a man-made circular lake, near Lingang New City. The line also passes the Shanghai Wild Animal Park and the site of the future Pudong Railway Station. The line will also be extended to connect to Longyang Road (Line 2/7 and Maglev) in future. You’ll also be able to connect to Shanghai Disney Resort via Line 11 by 2015 at Luoshan Road.

Trains on Line 16 will run faster than regular metro stations due to having to cover a longer distance, and seats will face forwards/backwards, instead of sideways like on other lines.

The full list of stations is:

  • Luoshan Road 罗山路
  • East Zhoupu 周浦东
  • Heshahangcheng 鹤沙航城
  • East Hangtou 航头东
  • Xinchang 新场
  • Wild Animal Park 野生动物园
  • Huinan 惠南
  • East Huinan 惠南东
  • Shuyuan 书院
  • Lingang Avenue 临港大道
  • Dishui Lake 滴水湖

Screenshot 2013-12-11 18.51.52

Our metro maps online, for Android and iPhone will be updated as soon as the new line opens (around December 28th, 2013).

Singapore Downtown MRT Line opens 22 December 2013

The Singapore MRT‘s long-awaited Downtown Line opens its first phase on 22 December 2013. Six stations of what will eventually be a 34-station, 42 km line will start services on a semi-circular loop in the city center. The line starts at Bugis, connecting to the East West Line, continues through Promenade and Bayfront (both on the Circle Line), then two new stations Downtown and Telok Ayer, before ending at Chinatown, on the North East Line.

The new line is colored blue on MRT maps, and the driverless trains will run fully underground. Here’s a sneak preview of the new line:

Downtown MRT

Look out for updates to our online map, iOS and Android apps before December 22nd!

Travel direct to Taipei 101 on the new Taipei Metro Xinyi Line

The Taipei Metro has opened the Xinyi Line, a major extension to Red Line services.

The new extension starts runs between Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Xiangshan, with intermediate stations at Dongmen, Daan Park,  Daan, Taipei 101/World Trade Center and Xinyi Anhe.

Screenshot 2013-11-24 18.02.28

There are interchange stations with Orange Line trains at Dongmen and Brown Line trains at Daan.

There are now two Red Line services. Trains from Beitou will run directly to Xiangshan, while trains from Tamsui will run via the Green Line to Xindian.

Additionally, the Xiaonanmen Line has been extended, trains will now run from Ximen to Taipower Building.

We’ve updated our online map at taipei.exploremetro.com, updates to our iOS and Android apps will be available soon.

Shanghai Metro Line 11 reaches Kunshan

Shanghai Metro Line 11 recently opened 3 new stations at the northern end of the Line 11 branch line.

Screen Shot 2013-10-19 at 20.41.14

The three new stations are Zhaofeng Road, Guangming Road and Huaqiao.

Interestingly, the stations are not in Shanghai municipality but in Kunshan city in neighbouring Jiangsu province. In future the line will connect to Kunshan’s own metro system.

We’ve updated exploreshanghai.com and updates for our iPhone app and Android app will be available soon.