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Old Jan 7, 2020 | 1:10 pm
  #50  
mosburger
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Asia/Europe
Programs: CX, OZ, MU (+AY, DL), Shangri-La, Hilton
Posts: 7,233
Originally Posted by moondog
I want to offer some more general thoughts that pertain to the current Shanghai metro system:

1. After I mentioned that Line 11 has been almost completely useless to me until recently (now it is only 90% useless because at least it can get me to Jiangsu Rd, where a friend of mine works), I realized that some of the newer lines are even more useless (for me)
https://exploreshanghai.com/metro/#
-17
-5
-6
-8 I have taken 8 one or two stops a few times, though
-3

2. Lines that I like and/or need
-10 I live and work on Line 10 because it is much more civilized than Line 2, and passes through a lot of useful places
-13 I like 13 because I can almost always get a seat, and it connects my office to Nanjing West as well as Hanzhong Road (we have clients there); it also hits some decent areas after it turns west at Hanzhong Road
-12 Not quite as useful as 13 because it turns east at Hanzhong Road, but it's still a good north/south option through town, and the stations seem to spaced a little further apart than 13's
-1 While I've never been a fan of 1, I appreciate it a little more now because it allows me to go both east, and north from Xujiahui/Hengshan Road, and passes by Shaanxi South Road as well as Huangpi South Road (north end of XTD)

3. Lines that I dislike, but sometimes use out of necessity
-2 Most people say, probably correctly, that 2 is the most important line in the network. While I can tolerate it for 2-3 station runs, I dislike the crowds, and the downtown stations are not conveniently placed (e.g. if you want to go Plaza 66 or the Portman, you're looking at 800-1000 meter walks)
-7 Line 7 barely connects to lines 1 and 2, and does not connect with line 10, in spite of the fact that they cross each other. It is also quite crowded (not sure why)
-9 I'm lukewarm about 9. It is crowded because many people live in Songjiang these days, and I get this. It does the same cross town job as 2 and 10...just further south. Like 10 and 1, it can also get me from my home to XTD (Madang Road in this case)

4. Line 14 (2020 launch planned)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_14_(Shanghai_Metro)
-Line 14 is yet another east/west line, intended to relieve Line 2
-within downtown, it will provide a north/south link between Wuding Road (bar area), Jing'an Temple, and Huangpi South Road (XTD)
-it is expected to have extremely high ridership levels, and I've heard through the grapevine that 2 minute spacing has been planned

5. Transfer stations
a) good
-Century Avenue -- three lines connect there, and the transfer process is seamless
-XTD
-Shaanxi South, but only between 10 and 12; 1 is a bit of a hike
-I'm guessing there are some other good ones, but as intimated above, I lack personal experience wrt a large percentage of the network

b) bad
-People's Square -- ~20 exits!
-Xujiahui
-Nanjing West Road -- remarkably bad because you need to exit the station in order to transfer, and 12 to 13 entails a really long walk
-Nanjing East Road -- not as bad as the others on this list, but definitely not good
-any station that facilitates transfers to the above ground portions of lines 3/4
-Jing'an Temple -- 2 and 7 are pretty far apart there
-Changshu Road -- likewise 1 and 7 are far apart there
Nice and interesting post. I have been to Shanghai a little less frequently than before but still regularly.

Essential lines for myself:

- 10: My preference from Honqgiao flights and trains towards both Puxi and Pudong and most other East - West commutes

- 9: Shanghai residence and better half are located along this line

- 8: Use this line to connect from downtown to line 9

- 4: Main connecting line from Shanghai main station to my Shanghai lodging area in Lujiazui

Mostly use Century Avenue for transfers, cannot stand taking lines 1 & 2 and connecting at People's Square anymore after more than a decade of sardine tin simulation.

Would be interesting to test connecting from Shanghai West station to Jiaotong University via line 11 as do have business at both ends (transfer from HSR at Shanghai West)
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