Metro Line #7 Opens (with Pictures)

Metro Line #7 finally opens yesterday on December 5, 2009, at 9:00 AM. I took this afternoon taking the Metro Line #7 and took some photos.

Overview of the Metro Line #7

Shanghai Metro Line #7 is an orange line – the color of this line. It goes from Meilanhu on the northwest of the city to Huamu Road on the southeast. The completed line #7 will have 33 stations, but currently, only the stations between (including) Shanghai University and Huamu Road are open.

Here is a list of the stations of this metro line:

  • Meilan Lake
  • Luonan Xincun
  • Panguang Road
  • Liuhang
  • Gucun Park
  • Qihua Road
  • Shanghai University
  • Nanchen Road
  • Shangda Road
  • Changzhong Road
  • Dachang Town
  • Xingzhi Road
  • Dahuasan Road
  • Xincun Road
  • Langao Road
  • Zhenping Road
  • Changshou Road
  • Changping Road
  • Jing’an Temple
  • Changshu Road
  • Zhaojiabang Road
  • Dong’an Road
  • Chuanchang Road
  • Houtan
  • Changqing Road
  • Yaohua Road
  • Yuntai Road
  • West Gaoke Road
  • South Yanggao Road
  • Jinxiu Road
  • Fanghua Road
  • Longyang Road
  • Huamu Road

The importance of this line is, that it connects many lines together. It can interchange to line #1 at Changshu Road, to Line #2 at Jing’an Temple and Longyang Road, and Line #3/#4 at Zhenping Road, Line #9 at Zhaojiabang Road, and many other lines in the future.

Photos of the Shanghai Metro Line #7

Below: This is the orange cart of the orange line.

Below: the problem with Line #7 is, it is still not very easy to transit between lines. Although it is not as bad as Metro Line #1 and #2 at the People’s Square Station, it cannot be called close. These three photos shows the transition tunnel and the elevator between Metro Line #2 and Metro Line #7 at Long Yang Road Station. I won’t complain about the distance, but won’t be happy about it either.

Construction is still going out outside the station to have the final work finished.

Below: The colorful seat with green designates the seat for disabled.

Good thing is, the Line #7 is completely equipped with glass walls.

Huamu Road Station, the terminal station of Line #7 is the gate to the Shanghai International Expo Center. It has the best station design I saw along Metro Line #7 so far. It has the two levels connected with a big courtyard in the middle. All the other stations are, hmmm, just stations.

Look at this amazing Shanghai Metro Map. For a city with just 15 years of Metro history, this is very quick.

The Metro Line #7 is equipped with restrooms. Yeah!

There are more equipments than other lines. Look at this. They even have two vendor machine inside the paid zone of the station, so people can help themselves to make up the shortage of ticket if they didn’t buy enough value.

The service center is also more modern than other lines.

People are Excited

With just one line running from Hongmei Road to Shanghai Railway Station, I can remember the name of each station and their exact order. I can even tell the station from the decoration – the color and seats in the waiting area when I just came to Shanghai. Now, about 100 stations are there, and I can hardly been to half of them, and even cannot remember all of them.

Before, there was just one transit station – People’s Square, and later, with the network of Metro System extends, there are more and more transit stations, and now, it seems there are less stations which are not transit stations in the urban area of Shanghai than those are not.

I brought Yifan to the system today. He is so excited. Besides the metro staff who are there on duty, Yifan is always another person who wait until the train went out of sight before moving an inch. For two days, Yifan fall asleep on metro trains. He just don’t want to leave the subway system – just like his father.

14 thoughts on “Metro Line #7 Opens (with Pictures)

  1. AH! happen to live at jing an temple, will try taking line 7 to go exploring! :D

    thank you for uploading pictures~

  2. JS,

    It’s good to see more and more Metro lines up and running. In a mega city such as Shanghai, subways are extremely vital as the surface roads are simply not sufficient enough to digest the horrifically congested traffic. I heard that Line 2 will eventually extend eastward to Pudong International Airport from the current terminal of Zhangjiang High Tech Station, and westward from Songhong Road to Hongqiao Airport. If this is indeed the case, do you know the projected completion dates?

  3. I’m always impressed by the metro system in Shanghai: clean , air conditionned. What we don’t have in Paris, London, Milan … No smelly people :)

    Are there more lines due completed before Shanghai ?

  4. Hello JS. I’ve been reading thru your blog for a while now. I think by far it is the best blog I have ever seen. Very informative.

    I also took a ride on Line 7 yesterday afternoon. Man, everything is so new and cleannnnnnn. I hope they can keep it that way as long as possible. (seriously, they need some remodeling on some Line 1 and 2 stations.)

    I have noticed that they have installed a new kind of entry/exit gate for disabled people. It looks the same as the one from Taipei MRT. I have seen one person trying to use that, but for some reason it was not functioning well (probably not fully ready yet.)

    Also if anyone has notice, the subway map on those fare vending machines is updated. It includes Line 7, but also Line 9 extension, Line 11, line 2 extension and also Jiyang Road Station (interchange between Line 8 and 6)

    Good luck man!

  5. JS, most of the Line 1 and 2 stations already has restroom :-) You’ve not taking subway for quite a while

  6. It looks great!

    I don’t know what you find so bad about the transfer between line 1 and 2 though.

  7. Yes, @DC. Many of them are in the paid area, and the Line #7 has restroom in the free area. That is significant because at least you know where to look for a rest room in this big city: Metro Stations!

  8. Alot of it looks quite similar to the Hong Kong MTR, right down to the design of the ticket machines and the typography on the signs. But it looks pretty quiet. Was it just an off-hour? Or are maybe not so many people using it yet?

    I’m glad Shanghai has a bigger subway system. It’s convenient. It’s cheaper than a taxi. Most importantly, it helps ease congestion and pollution by keeping cars off the road.

  9. “don’t want to leave the subway system” ?

    once you are in the train of Line 1, I am praying that I could get off as soon as possible, away from the crowd, unpleasant compartment, and sometimes people unpolite who are making noise with the mobile, or reading newspaper which is hanging over your head.

    Line 1 is definitely the great success in Shanghai modern transport history, but not as efficient, comfortable as it should be.

    —words from a local citizen who takes metro line 1 every working day

  10. Great, now I don’t have to change lines any more which would save me time and money! (well if I don’t move any where else ofcourse ;)

  11. This is a great news! I will be staying at Xikang Lu the intersection between Changshou Lu for the next couple months starting this January. Did they open the Changshou Rd Station too, on 5th December?

    Thanks for providing such wonderful pictures

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