Category Archives: newlines

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.

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.

Introducing Explore Shanghai 10.0 for iOS

We’re delighted to announce that Explore Shanghai Metro map 10.0 for iOS is now available in the App Store! We’ve redesigned the app to match the style of the new iOS7. You’ll notice a much lighter feeling around the app, with more whitespace and semi-transparent glass effects, thinner fonts and icons.

Although the app looks best on iOS7, it will still run on any device (iPhone, iPod touch or iPad) running iOS5.1 and higher.

As this is our first release for iOS7, there may be a few rough edges – do let us know if you see anything broken. A 10.1 update will be available soon, which fixes the missing legend.

Download Explore Shanghai Metro map 10.0 now!

Goodbye Aerospace Museum, Hello Shendu Highway

The station at the southern terminus of Shanghai Metro Line 8 has been known as Aerospace Museum since it opened in 2009. There’s just one small problem: the museum of that name doesn’t actually exist yet.

Four years later, it’s unclear if the museum will be constructed at this site, and so the Shanghai Metro company has decided to fix this by renaming the station to Shendu Highway (沈杜公路). We’ve updated www.exploreshanghai.com with the new station name, and the name will also be updated in the next updates to our iOS and Android apps.

Shanghai Metro Line 11 extension opens this weekend!

Good news… the Shanghai Metro is about to get even longer! The Shanghai Metro company has announced that the extension to Line 11 will open on Saturday, August 31 2013.

While the current Line 11 links the northern suburbs of Anting and Jiading with Jiangsu Road station, the new line will add 12 new stations south of Jiangsu Road. The line first heads south, intersecting with Line 10 at Jiaotong University and Line 1 and 9 at Xujiahui.

It then heads south with 4 more stops in Puxi, at Shanghai Swimming Center, Longhua, Yunjin Road and Longyao Road, before heading into Pudong with stops at Oriental Sports Center (Line 6 & 8 interchange), Sanlin, East Sanlin, Pusan Road, Yuqiao and Luoshan Road.

The full list of new stations is:

Jiaotong University 交通大学
Xujiahui 徐家汇
Shanghai Swimming Center 上海游泳馆
Longhua 龙华
Yunjin Road 云锦路
Longyao Road 龙耀路
Oriental Sports Center 东方体育中心
Sanlin 三林
East Sanlin 三林东
Pusan Road 浦三路
Yuqiao 御桥
Luoshan Road 罗山路

Several of the new stations have designs inspired by their locations: Longhua has a gold roof inspired by Longhua Temple while Jiaotong University Station has a literary theme, with artworks based on manuscripts belonging to scientist Qian Xuesen.

Luoshan Road, the new eastern terminus will be a interchange station with Line 16, anticipated to open at the end of this year. Line 16 will carry on further into Pudong, terminating near Dishui Lake.

A new version of our Android app is now available on Google Play and an update for our iPhone app is available on the App Store.

Beijing Subway Line 10 completed, and Line 14 opens for Garden Expo

May 2013 brings two new openings for the Beijing Subway! Beijing Subway Line 10, a major loop line around the city opened at the start of 2013, but two stations were missing. Those two stations: Fengtai Railway Station and Niwa are now ready for passengers. That means you can now take a subway train all the way around the loop – a full circuit takes over 1.5 hours! Train frequency has also been increased to a headway of 2 minutes 15 seconds at peak times.

There’s also a brand new subway line, Line 14 heads west from Xiju station (interchange with line 10), running 12.6km to its terminus at Zhangguozhuang (张郭庄). Line 14 has 6 stations in the initial phase, all in Fengtai District; trains do not currently stop at Qilizhuang station (七里庄), which will be a future interchange with Line 9 and should open by the end of 2013.

One of the main reasons to take Line 14 is to visit the Beijing Garden Expo. There’s a dedicated station, Garden Expo Park, for accessing the Expo.

Here’s a map of the new stations! Stay tuned for updates to our online map and apps for iPhone and Android shortly!

Yongin Everline opens in Seoul

The much-delayed Everline has opened in Yongin, Seoul. It’s a fully automated, elevated rapid transit system, connecting the Everland amusement park with the rest of the Seoul Metro System.

There are 15 stations in the initial phase, connecting Giheung station on the Bundang Line to Jeondae-Everland station. There are also stops at various points of interest in Yongin including City Hall-Yongin University.

Yongin, a city neighboring Seoul, has rapidly expanded in the last decade, and is now home to almost 1 million people. The opening of the Everline improves public transportation in the city, adding to the existing DX Line and extension to the Bundang Line.

Don’t forget to check out our Seoul map for iPhone, Android and online.

New apps for 2013 for Beijing Subway and Shanghai Metro

We’re fast approaching the end of the year, and the Beijing Subway and Shanghai Metro are making final preparations for the new lines opening.

In Shanghai, Line 13 is undergoing testing, and three new stations on Line 9 should also open shortly, around December 28th. The Shanghai Metro company have announced that two stations (Daduhe Road and South Qilianshan Road) will not open in the initial phase of Line 13 however.

Meanwhile in Beijing, 4 new lines are getting ready: Line 6, plus extensions to Line 8, Line 9 and Line 10 . All are planned to open on the afternoon of December 30th. One caveat is that the interchange station between Line 1 and Line 9 at Military Museum is not open yet, so trains will not stop at this station on Line 9. Our maps will show Military Museum on Line 1 only for the time being.

We’ve just launched updates to our online interactive maps at ExploreShanghai.com and ExploreBJ.com to show you the latest lines. This includes station names in English and Chinese, and an updated route-planner. Do check out the Metropedia pages for the new construction like Cishousi and Songjiang South Railway Station.

Some information like first/last train times and prices for Shanghai are not yet available and will be added soon. If you see any missing information, please do contact us with links or data to fill in the gaps!

We’ve also updated our Android app for Beijing and Android app for Shanghai with the new lines. And iPhone users, we haven’t forgotten you! Due to the App Store approval process, it will take around 1-2 weeks to get the new versions of our iPhone apps approved. We hope to have them ready for you by early January!

Shanghai Metro Line 13: the Jinshajiang Road Express

This week we’re previewing the new lines expected to open in Shanghai and Beijing in December 2012. Today, Shanghai Metro Line 13.

Remember during Expo 2012 a short segment of Line 13 was used to shuttle visitors to the Expo Park? Well, Line 13 is back, but unfortunately not the part in central Shanghai. The 8km-long phase 1 of Line 13 will head west from Jinshajiang Road station on Line 3/4. It will follow the path of Jinshajiang Road past the outer ring road to Huajiang Road. Here’s a view from Huajiang Road looking east back towards central Shanghai. Line 13 runs roughly parallel to and north of Line 2.

By 2015 Line 13 will be further extended into the center, but here’s what the line is expected to look like by the end of 2012:

Finally, here’s a sneak peek inside Fengzhuang station courtesy of the Metrofans BBS.

Shanghai Metro Line 9: Deeper into Songjiang

This week we’re previewing the new lines expected to open in Shanghai and Beijing in December 2012. Today, Shanghai Metro Line 9.

Line 9 currently runs from Middle Yanggao Road in Pudong to Songjiang Xincheng in Songjiang District. On approximately December 28th 2012, a three-station extension should open, with new stations at Songjiang Sports Center, Zuibaichi and Songjiang South Railway Station, which provides a connection to the Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed rail line.

Here’s a picture of the new station at Songjiang South:

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