Category Archives: cities

Beijing Subway Line 6 heads further east

This week we’re previewing several new lines and extensions which opened at the end of December 2014. Today, Beijing Subway Line 6. Line 6 opened two years ago providing relief for the overcrowded Line 1. In December 2014 it was extended eastwards to a new terminal station at Lucheng. 


 


Two stations did not open with the rest of the line, and will open later (Tongyunmen and Beiyunhe East). The open stations are:

  • Wuzixueyuan Lu
  • Tongzhou Beiguan
  • Beiyunhe West
  • Haojiafu
  • Dongxiayuan
  • Lucheng

The Beijing Subway has also replaced the old flat 2 RMB fare structure with a new distance-based fare structure, with prices varying between 3 RMB and 9 RMB. For example, a journey from Wuzixueyuan Lu to Lucheng will cost 4 RMB.

Beijing’s brand new Line 7

This week we’re previewing several new lines and extensions which opened at the end of December 2014. Today, Beijing Subway Line 7. Line 7 is a brand new east-west line, starting at Beijing West Railway Station and heading east through Fengtai, Xicheng, Dongcheng and Chaoyang districts.



It includes interchanges with Line 9 at Beijing West Railway Station, Line 4 at Caishikou and Line 5 at Ciqikou. Unfortunately a planned station at Shuangjing will not currently open, since the Line 10 station there was not planned as an interchange station. The full list of stations currently open is:

  • Beijing West Railway Station (Line 9)
  • Wanzi
  • Daguanying
  • Guang’anmennei
  • Caishikou (Line 4)
  • Hufangqiao
  • Zhushikou
  • Qiaowan
  • Ciqikou (Line 5)
  • Guangqumennei
  • Guangqumenwai
  • Jiulongshan
  • Dajiaoting
  • Baiziwan
  • Huagong
  • Nanlouzizhuang
  • Happy Valley Scenic Area
  • Shuanghe
  • Jiaohuachang

The Beijing Subway has also replaced the old flat 2 RMB fare structure with a new distance-based fare structure, with prices varying between 3 RMB and 9 RMB. For example, a journey from Beijing West Railway Station to Jiaohuachang will cost 6 RMB.

Shanghai Metro Line 16 now connects to Longyang Road

This week we’re previewing several new lines and extensions which opened at the end of December 2014. Today, Shanghai Metro Line 16. Line 16 opened last year with a section of track from Luoshan Road to Dishui Lake. The line wasn’t that well connected to the rest of the network, with the only interchange station to Line 11 at Luoshan Road. It’s now much better connected, thanks to the new 2-station extension:


In particular the station at Longyang Road provides easy interchanges with Line 2, 7 and the Maglev to Pudong Airport. Later in 2015, Line 11 will also be extended from Longyang Road to the Shanghai Disney Resort, so Line 16 will be a useful conduit for visitors heading from the airport to the Disney Park.

Shanghai Metro Line 13 extended

This week we’re previewing several new lines and extensions which opened at the end of December 2014. Today, Shanghai Metro Line 13. Line 13 has gone through a number of iterations over the last few years. If you were in Shanghai during the 2010 World Expo you may recall a small section of Line 13 was open to ferry people into the Expo site. That section subsequently closed, and a new section of Line 13 in western Shanghai opened in 2012, from Jinshajiang Road to Jinyun Road. This year, Line 13 has been extended three stations eastwards, with two new interchange stations:


Later in 2015, Line 13 will be extended eastwards and southwards:

  • Jiangning Road
  • Hanzhong Road (interchange with Line 1 and 12)
  • Shanhaiguan Road
  • West Nanjing Road (interchange with Line 2 and 12)
  • Middle Huaihai Road
  • Xintiandi (interchange with Line 10)
  • Madang Road (interchange with Line 9)
  • Lupu Bridge
  • Shibo Avenue
  • Changqing Road (interchange with Line 7)

Year-end metro openings for Shanghai and Beijing

December 2014 should see several new lines and extensions opening in Shanghai and Beijing.

In Shanghai, Line 13 will be extended by three stops, with a new Line 11/13 interchange at Longde Road and a new Line 7/13 interchange at Changshou Road. Additionally Line 16 should be extended with a new Line 2/7/16/Maglev interchange at Longyang Road.

In Beijing, one major change is the switch from a flat 2RMB fare to distance-based pricing from 3RMB to 10RMB beginning December 28. There are also several new lines opening: a brand new east-west line, Line 7, plus extensions to Line 6, Line 14 and Line 15.

As you may know, ExploreMetro is run by just one person and I’m currently in the United States, preparing to get married on December 31st! So, for personal reasons, the Explore Shanghai and Explore Beijing apps will likely not be updated with all the new lines until early January. Thanks for your patience.

Update 1! Basic updates to the online maps and Android apps are now available. Some information like first/last train times will be updated in early January. iOS apps will also be updated in early January.

Update 2! Updates to our iOS apps are also now available!

Vote for ExploreMetro in the Urban Commuter Challenge

We recently entered ExploreMetro in the Urban Commuter Challenge. This is a competition which challenges app developers to improve life for commuters in Shanghai.

Now, if you’re reading this blog you already know that we make Shanghai’s best metro map, so how could we make it even better?

By adding offline exit maps! Read the story of what we did, and please consider voting for us on the ChallengePost website.

All change as Taipei Songshan Line opens

It’s all change on the Taipei Metro this week as the new Songshan Line opens. Although only 4 new stations have opened: Songshan, Nanjing Sanmin, Taipei Arena and Beimen, there’s also been a major reorientation of services on the other lines, leading to much improved and simplified interchanges in central Taipei. The Songshan Line connects through to the Xindian Line as part of the new Line 3, shown in green on the map below:

Screenshot 2014-11-16 22.29.34

Additionally, the lines in Taipei have now been numbered for the first time, aiding tourists and visitors to Taipei.

* The Wenhu Line (brown) is now Line 1
* The Tamsui-Xinyi Line (red) is now Line 2
* The Songshan-Xindian Line (green) is now Line 3
* The Zhonghe-Xinlu Line (orange) is now Line 4
* The Bannan Line (blue) is now Line 5

We’ve updated our online map at taipei.exploremetro.com with all the new stations and lines. Updates to our iOS and Android apps are coming soon! Due to the large number of changes, there may be some errors or issues with the maps. Spot anything out of place? Do get in touch!

Introducing Material Design for our Android metro maps

We’ve just updated all of our ExploreMetro Android apps with a style update inspired by the new Google Material Design patterns.

material-nexus5_framed

You’ll see more consistent use of colour throughout the apps: for example Shanghai uses a blue theme with a blue icon, blue toolbar and blue highlights, while Singapore is purple and Beijing is red.

It’s also even easier to plan a route, just tap the big circular Plan Route button (in orange in the screenshot below) to start planning a route.

We’ve also taken the opportunity to roll out some other updates, with station and first/last train time updates for Shanghai, and updated journey prices for Singapore. Find any issues with the latest updates? Get in touch

Asia’s best metro maps: now free forever on iPhone

 

Every app. Free Forever. I’m excited to announce that starting today, all our iPhone metro maps apps are free to download. Whether you need a metro map for Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, or Taipei – both iPhone and Android apps can be downloaded free of charge. This is not a temporary promotion, all our apps are free, forever.

It’s been five years since I launched the first version of Explore Shanghai for iPhone, and a lot has changed in the app market. Most apps are now free to download, and people’s appetite for paid apps is declining. I’m still confident that the ExploreMetro apps are Asia’s best metro maps, and with your help they can be the most popular too!

If you download an app for the first time, you can use nearly all the features of the app for free, including search, route-planning and street maps. Certain features such as first/last train times, audio pronunciations of stations and offline street maps are now premium features. You can upgrade any app to VIP mode to get all premium features, and remove banner ads.

If you’ve ever downloaded a paid version of the app you are entitled to continue using all the premium features for free, forever. If you have any problems restoring your purchase, please contact us!

Tell your friends… tell the world… Asia’s best metro maps are now FREE!