Search tips in the new version of Explore Shanghai for iPhone and iPad

The latest version of ExploreShanghai for iPhone and iPad is available now, and we’ve added a great new feature.

Previously, you could search for station names, now you can also search for tips! What’s great is that other Explore Shanghai users have already added over 1000 tips including points of interest, shops and restaurants. For example, want to know which metro stops are near the Bund? Just search “bund”:

iOS Simulator Screen shot 17 Jan 2013 19.01.15

 

Searching tips is available now for Explore Shanghai on iOS, and coming soon to our other apps!

5 dead and 18 injured in Shanghai Metro Line 12 construction site accident

Tragic news today, Sina reports that 5 people are dead and 18 injured after an accident at a construction site for the Shanghai Metro Line 12 at Jinsui Road (金穗路) in Pudong. The rush to build China’s infrastructure at a breakneck pace means that such accidents sadly seem to be very common. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

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.

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Meanwhile in Beijing, 4 new lines are getting ready: Line 6, plus extensions to Line 8, Line 9 and Line 10Screen Shot 2012-12-27 at 23.30.05. 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.

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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.

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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:

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

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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.

Line 9 extension

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

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Beijing Subway Line 6: relief at last

This week we’re previewing the new lines expected to open in Shanghai and  Beijing in December 2012. Today, Beijing Line 6!

The only completely new line opening in Beijing this year is Line 6. It’s significant because it runs parallel to Beijing’s oldest subway line, the ageing and overcrowded Line 1. Line 6 will have key interchanges with all the lines in central Beijing, including two interchanges with Line 10, two with Line 2, one with Line 4 at Ping’anli and one with Line 5 at Dongsi, and one with Line 9 at Baishiqiao South. There’s also easy access to the famous Nanluoguxiang Hutong.

All stations are due to open in late 2012, so Line 6 should look something like this (click to enlarge!):

Beijing Subway Line 9: Not so lonely any more

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

Poor Beijing Subway Line 9 is a bit of an oddity. Although it opened last year, it only currently connects with the suburban Fangshan Line, passengers arriving at its current northern terminus at Beijing West Railway Station need to walk or take a bus to Line 1.

That’s all about to change with not one, but four new interchange stations. The existing station at Liuliqiao will link to the new Line 10 extension, while there are new interchange stations with Line 1 at Military Museum, Line 6 at Baishiqiao South and Line 4 at National Library.

Line 9 should look like this by the end of the year (click to enlarge!):

Beijing Subway Line 8: The Olympic Line gets longer

This week we’re previewing the new lines expected to open in Shanghai and  Beijing in December 2012. Today, Beijing Line 8!

Beijing Subway Line 8 initially opened with a small stretch between Beitucheng and South Gate of Forest Park in time for the 2008 Olympics, and ferried spectators to the Olympic Stadium. Last year a northern extension connected it to Line 13 at Huoying, and this year we expect a southern extension which should connect Line 8 to Line 2 at Guoloudajie, making Line 8 much more accessible from central Beijing. There are two intervening stations between Beitucheng and Guoloudajie: Anhuaqiao should open in December, while Andelibeijie will open at a later date.

Line 8 should look like this by the end of the year (click to enlarge!):

Beijing Subway Line 10: “If you like it then you should have put a ring round it”

This week we’re previewing the new lines expected to open in Shanghai and  Beijing in December 2012. Today, Beijing Line 10!

Beijing Subway Line 10 is an impressive engineering feat. By late 2013 it will form an outer ring around Beijing, with 45 stations including 24 interchange stations! The total track length of 57km will make it the longest circular metro line in the world by our calculations, beating out the circular part of Seoul’s Metro Line 2.

Roughly half the line (the north and east parts of the loop) has been running since 2008, and in December 2012 it’s expected that most of the rest of the loop will open, save for a break in the circle in the south west corner, where Niwa and Fengtai Railway Station will open later in 2013. Jiaomen East station is also expected to be delayed. That means Line 10 will look something like this by the end of the year (click to enlarge):