New metro line opens ... well, some of it

Shanghaiist took a ride on the city’s brand new metro Line 4 the other day. Whilst it isn’t the major expansion to the current metro network we are all waiting for (especially seeing the entire line is yet to open), it might make getting across the city a little bit easier, depending on where you live. The line offers a new crossing between Puxi and Pudong, under the Huangpu River, between the Yangpu Bridge and the International Ferry Terminal, and when it is fully complete it will form a ring around the city centre and another crossing between Pudong and Puxi, near the Nanpu Bridge. The section between Lan Cun Lu in Pudong and Da Mu Qiao Lu in Puxi, remains closed for now, after a tunnel collapsed during construction in 2003. As always, information on when the line will be completed is scant.

Line 4 offers those living near the Xujiahui, Hengshan Lu, Changshu Lu stations, and indeed anyone south of these stops on Line 1, an alternative means of getting to Zhongshan Park or any stops on Line 3. Line 4 shares the same tracks as much of Line 3 and offers a quick and free transfer from Line 1 to Line 4 at Shanghai Indoor Stadium. Anyone who lives on Line 1 and has tried to get to Zhongshan Park, and had to do the mile-long walk to transfer to Line 2 at crowded People’s Square will appreciate this new and faster route. Line 4 trains have a purple stripe on their exterior so they can be easily distinguished from Line 3 trains.

Free transfers between all lines are now supposed to be in operation -- that means that you don’t have to buy a new ticket to continue your journey if you change onto a new line. Shanghaiist was able to confirm this was the case when transferring from Line 1 to Line 4 at Shanghai Indoor Stadium, and transfering from Line 4 to Line 2 at Zhongshan Park, but it’s unclear weather this is the case at Shanghai Railway station -- Line 3 / 4 and Line 1 being a lengthy walk away from each other through a long underpass open to Metro users and everyone else.

A new transfer between Line 2 and Line 4 exists in Pudong, at Dongfang Lu, but sadly, this station is "closed for reconstruction" until next autumn at the earliest.