I also didn't mind, but when I travel with luggage I am happy to board the Maglev, even if just a carry on. I admire those people who bring a giant luggage bag into the metro - you see this more often at Hongqiao railway station, though.

But still, I hate crowded metro and luggage. Need to hold your luggage with one hand, another one holds the grabrail, and the third hand holds the mobile to prevent pick pockets. :rolleyes:

Anyway, we drifted quite off topic, anyway Maglev is still running as on Jan 2020 and I am happy to hear some trains of line 2 run directly to PVG.

As far as I know, there will only be an HSR line directly connecting Pudong Airport (Shanghai East Railway Station) and Hongqiao Railway Station, as it's too difficult to develop a line in the downtown area.

The maglev is expensive to run. But rumor says its financial situation is much better than many people think, except for two times, its coil needed replacing, which was said to cost CNY 1bn each. In my opinion, the maglev behaves like a symbol of showing off China's development, and it would be deprecated sooner or later.

I once got from Jing’an to PVG check-in in 35 minutes using DiDi+Maglev. I was lucky that one was about to leave when I arrived, but compared to taxi all the way or Line 2 it’s definitely the best option and not much hassle.

ETA: I also think it will be shut down sooner rather than later. I don’t believe it has ever turned a profit and the prestige value becomes less as HSR gets closer to the same speed.

Since they only run 3 trains/hour most of the time, I always factor in a 10 minute average wait. This would have pushed your 35 minutes to 45 minutes, and taxis can pull off 45 minutes most of the time.

yes yes... but the taxi is so boring!! You're just sitting in the car for miles on end. At least with the maglev I feel like I'm 'doing' something. Plus it's cheaper :)