Shanghai metro authorities have almost finished installing the fastest metro train in the city's history along the newly-constructed line 16 subway route - a 59-kilometer-track connecting Lingang New City to Longyang Road. According to subway officials, the 46 new 'bullet' trains will undergo a trial run sometime this year. By 2014, line 16 will open to the public. more ›

This isn't new, but it's funny. Due to all the emergency hammer theft, a few years ago Harbin outfitted all its buses with emergency bricks instead. As always, China finding the simple solution to a simple problem. more ›

According to Oriental Morning Post, select bus routes in Shanghai have already initiated pilot programs for a bus timing system similar to that of our metro system. Lines 925B and 146 have both begun forecasting bus arrival times by tracking progress along their stops, flashing updates on LCD tickers when the bus is two stops away, one stop away, and about to arrive. more ›

Somebody took new info over at United Metro and made us another insane mock up of what the metro will look like in 2030! We've already seen the madness predicted for 2020, but this map managed to clean things up a bit. See a bigger version here. more ›

The video below captures a scene from bus 81 in Pudong last week that has sparked massive controversy online. It shows an elderly bottle picker who, after paying his fair and bringing his bags on board, is shoved around and yelled at by both the driver and a male passenger as they try to throw his stuff off the bus. The passenger continues to scream at the old man as the bus eventually moves forward, accusing him of stinking up the bus and inconveniencing others. At the next stop, the passenger grabs one of the bags and pulls it off the bus, tearing it and scattering the contents. The old man is left scrambling to pick up his livelihood before the doors slam shut. more ›

Were you mysteriously stranded along Metro Line 2 this morning? Well, the mystery has been solved. Shanghai Daily reports that a thief climbed on to the roof of a metro train and delayed service for 40 minutes at 8:45 this morning. The man stole a wallet at Lujiazui station, got off the train, and instead of making for the exit, cleverly ran for the tunnel and clambered onto the roof of the train. Perhaps he was trying to be inconspicuous, or maybe he was rehearsing for a role in a Speed remake. Either way, the police were called, and the thief was arrested and taken away uninjured. Meanwhile thousands of people were left stranded all along line 2. Normal service resumed at 9:30am. more ›

Wow, in the morning office peak hour rush this must be the most trying test of one's patience: Chengdu's metro Line 1 has installed airport-like metal detectors and tightened security measures so that subway riders must remove coins, keys, cell phones, and all other metal objects and submit to body scans. more ›

Shanghai has begun scaling back its suburban bus routes, canceling lines and changing some so they terminate at a metro stop instead of going all the way into the city. City traffic authorities say that changes to 283 routes (out of a total 1,165) will help reduce congestion in the city. Residents have begun complaining, saying they are being forced to ride the metro, sometimes paying both bus fair (2 yuan) and metro fair (3-5 yuan) to get into the city, where once only a single bus sufficed. But eventually Shanghai transportation management actually hopes to increase, not decrease, the number of bus routes in an effort to increase the number of commuters using public transportation (currently only 30%.) The changes now are aimed at consolidation and efficiency. more ›

Researchers at Southern Jiaotong University have announced that they've successfully developed a model of a vacuum magnetic suspension train that could travel at speeds of up to 1,200kmp, and could be put into operation within 10 years. To put that in perspective, a normal commercial airplane travels at around 500kph, so we're talking jet speeds here. Subsequently, they've also announced that it's most likely prohibitively expensive, and according to one expert, doesn't even operate within the realm of reality. more ›

Unlicensed pedicabs, which for the longest time have been gone from our city, have been making quite a comeback recently. To combat this, police have issued a pedicab crackdown, which cumulated in them seizing 60 of these electric wagons in just one short hour! more ›

It's always disheartening when we, bristling with overconfidence from our mastery of taxi-taking and subway-riding in Shanghai, try getting on the bus and realize it is nowhere near as easy. Though the subways now have English and taxis are plentiful, navigating Shanghai's sprawling public bus system is an endless source of confusion. more ›

A center for public transportation security is now open at the People's Square subway station. The center, which will be open daily, from 8am to 8pm, aims to teach its visitors about safety issues on subways and buses. Gas masks, flame proof blankets and other safety related products will be on show. So for those of you wondering if your behavior on the subway has been acceptable, here's your chance to find out. [Source] more ›

This just in, from Xinhua: more ›

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A summary of some of the Shanghai public-transportation-related stories making the news lately:
• The longest ocean-crossing bridge in the world is set to open near Shanghai on May 1. According to the Shanghai Daily, "the Hangzhou Bay Bridge, which starts in southern Shanghai and ends in Ningbo, will shorten the trip between the two cities by more than 120 kilometers". Construction on the bridge began in 2003.
• Nanjing will soon join Beijing in banning foldable bicycles from their subway system, leaving Shanghai and Guangzhou as the two major subway systems that don't explicitly forbid them.
• The 10 year-old Xujiahui subway station underground shopping street was closed for renovations on March 31st, and will reopen by the end of the year with a new set of tenants and new entertainment options. Exits 1-7 will be closed during renovations. Xujiahui is the site of the future Line 1/9/11 interchange.

A summary of some of the Shanghai public-transportation-related stories making the news lately:
• An intelligent, wireless signaling and control system already successfully implemented on Lines 6, 8 and 9 will be used for all new lines built between now and the World Expo in 2010, theoretically cutting the lowest time between trains to 90 seconds.
• According to news reports, the new 3G cellphone network being rolled out in Shanghai has complete coverage on all metro lines and at the city's airports.
• The airport authority and police have printed up brochures explaining in Chinese and English what is allowed and not allowed to be brought onto airplanes under the new rules limiting gels and liquids in unchecked baggage.

Metro news from the local press: more ›

Cross-posted on the Shanghai Public Transportation blog more ›

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News tidbits from the public transportation world: more ›

The free Metro Express commuter paper has a big front-page spread today on the People's Square metro interchange make-over. The headline announces that "People's Square Three Line Interchange Hall To Open By Year's End", which is old news to those who have been following the progress of the new metro Line 8. Instead, the reason for the story being published today is that the Shanghai Rail Transport Construction Headquarters just released a bunch of numbers on the new station, as well as a map of the planned station layout. Among the numbers: more ›

Two bits of transportation news from random sources: more ›

An industry source in this Metrofans thread reveals that internal estimates for the opening date of Metro Line 8 (M8) have moved up to October 31st from the previous estimate of December 28. more ›

The Shanghai Traffic Bureau has announced that another 100 public bus routes began offering passengers transfer discounts today, on top of the existing 140 discount routes. Public transport card holders will receive a 0.5 yuan discount on their two-yuan fare for air-conditioned buses if they take a second trip on any of the routes involved in the discount scheme within 90 minutes of boarding the first bus. This follows moves in Beijing earlier this year to axe bus rates to encourage the use of public transportation as an environmentally-friendly choice. Public bus tickets now cost between 20 and 80 cents in the capital. more ›

The new Line 6 has been dubbed the "Hello Kitty Line". We wonder why ... more ›

A round-up of BBS posts on the Shanghai metro:
• People's Square concrete drying... and drying... Poster SanNiu British Teacakes noticed yesterday that the yellow metal floor protectors place in front of the glass safety doors on the People's Square Line 1 platform have been moved around as the floor is repaired following the safety door installation process.
• Line 7 to perform "double crossing" of Suzhou CreekThe Metro Line 7 will perform a over-and-under double crossing of the Suzhou Creek south of the Zhenping Rd station. Line 7, a north-south line stretching from the outer Putuo District down to the World Expo site in Pudong, will cross the Suzhou Creek southbound through through a tunnel and northbound over a bridge. This is an unprecedented arrangement for the Shanghai metro system. On its journey, Line 7 will also intersect with Line 2 at Jing'an Temple and with Line 1 at Changshu Rd.
• Rumors say Line 4 to be delayed to 2008Rumors say that the structural engineering of ring line 4 will be complete by mid-2007, and that the installation of equipment and testing will take another full year to complete.

Would you believe that we get emails fairly regularly from people looking for even the most basic information about the China Baseball League? We wrote a story about the pro league back in 2004, and it's a testament to how little English info about the league exists out there that it's still one of most widely read CBL sources on the internet (it helps that Wikipedia linked to it). And so we have people asking us about everything from how they can play in the league to how they can watch a game ... or even if the league exists anymore (and lately that actually has been a pretty good question). Shanghaiist's last post about the CBL came in July 2005. Shortly thereafter the league saw a change at the top — Tom McCarthy, the American who helped found the league, left, and when he did, information about the league in English dried up (look, their English website still thinks it is April 2005). And throughout last season, the Chinese version of the site sat unchanged, as well. (Tianjin beat Guangdong for the title, for those of you still on the edge of your seat.) We think we're going to give the CBL another chance in 2007, however. They've updated and redesigned their website (they even have a countdown to opening day ... which is Friday). And we're really jonesing to watch some baseball action. The MLB season has started, but our satellite TV is down and we've been too lazy/busy to burn or buy a new card and we doubt our internet connection could handle MLB.tv. And while the CBL is a far cry from the big leagues (or even the minor leagues) there's something nice about an afternoon spent at the ballpark. And where is the Shanghai ballpark? Well, the Eagles are back in Pudong's Congbei Stadium, near the intersection of Yunlian Lu (云连路) and Qihe Lu (齐河路) . Here is a map and public transportation directions (in Chinese) courtesy of Baidu. You'll see that it is much easier to hop in a cab. We called up a college student who we met at a game a couple years ago (his English name is Goose) and he hooked us up with the 2007 China Baseball League Schedule, which you can see in English and Chinese by pressing on the "Continue reading ..." link below. Goose also invited Shanghaiist readers to visit his baseball BBS website. So check out the schedule, after the jump, but keep in mind that Shanghai's first home game isn't until April 20. Maybe we'll see you there? If the concessions situation is the same as it was in the past, we should plan on packing our own beer and hot dogs, not to mention peanuts and Cracker Jacks. Also on Shanghaiist
Beijing Tigers could win China baseball crown today
Wild Pitch? Major League Baseball to open China office
Ouch! China clobbered by Japan in World Baseball Classic Related
Basbeall league gets Japanese help (Xinhua)
In search of baseball's Yao Ming (Shanghai Diaries)
MLB invests in China’s baseball growth (Shanghai Diaries)
Take me out to the bangqiu bisai (Shanghai Diaries)
Buy me some peanuts and … soy sauce rice crackers? (Shanghai Diaries) Photo of Goose from danwashburn.com. more ›

We here in the Ist-A-Verse know that we're sensational, but it's very rare that we get a chance to be sensationalistic. This week, we've decided to have ourselves a little fun and try our hand at tacky tabloid headlines, using nothing more than our favorite posts from this week. more ›

This morning, Chinese language news portal 163.com had a great scoop, and revealed the future planning for Shanghai and China's Maglev railway system. more ›

We're guessing most of you are hungover from St. Patrick's Day. We are too. But still, we're going to muddle on through our green haze and give you (drum roll please...) this Week In -ists. more ›