The expo is coming. Everything is tighten up.
About few months ago, Shanghai started to check baggage at the entrance of major metro stations. The rule of whether a bag should be checked is not consistent.
I am wearing my black back bag all the time I enter metro. Most of the time, the security just ignore me, and allow me to enter without scanning, just like they treat the small hand bags ladies carry.
In other time, security asks me to put my bag into the scanning machine for security check. It is like this in most of the stations. The difference is, in bigger stations like Xujiahui, they tighten it, and in smaller stations like Jinxiu Road, they cover the big machines. Just two security guide using hand check.
JS,
With Metro Line 2 soon be extended eastward to Pudong International Airport(PVG) to Hongqiao Airport, and with the opening the of World Expo, there will be many passengers as well as local people who will take Metro to the airports. Can you find out if the Metro cart will be equipped with luggage racks for folks who have large pieces of luggages. Meantime, which Metro stations will have elevators that can transport passengers with heavy luggages. to the platforms.
Honestly, I can’t imagene the chaos from the increased population during the Expo period. AS it is now without Expo traffic, it’s already bad enough. I hope the prepations for the Expo will include hundreds and thousands of guides in airports, major streets, Metro stations who can aid people asking for directions to their destinations.
TW
I wonder whether Shanghai’s traffic system can withstand the heavy stream during EXPO. Yes, it’s already bad enough! Meanwhile, I can’t bear they even destroy good sight to rebuild streets and build tunnels. Sigh.
@TW, I will be very surprised if they allow carts from airport to the metro station – that is the typical style of the two government run companies. Convenience is not a priority – or even it is, it takes much more than the idea to make it real. The Maglev is a hugely expensive project, but the only small problem they have is, it is too hard for people to find the station, and it is too hard to get to the station. They spent billions to build the Maglev to catch every second to run at 430 km/h to save time, but they failed to build a wider staircase at Pudong Airport side. People spend more time queuing at the stair cases, than running for several km.
@Lisa, and TW, don’t worry about the traffic. There are always ways to control it. If needed, I will not be surprised if half or 3/4 of the local cars are forbidden to use the road – I mean if it is really needed, anything can happen. Sign….
it reminds me of the time when i was in BJ last May, it was checked at EVERY metro stop, i was definitely annoyed at the beginning. yes, in SHA, some stops ignore this matter, other stops don’t. maybe the government set this rule in order to offer a preparing-period for citizens to soon get used to this big event, Expo.
@jianshuo I have experienced the pain at Pudong Airport. Worse still nobody takes “VIP Class” (I sometimes do just for the heck of it). As a result the “exclusive” access to “VIP Class” is always closed.
(Sometimes getting on or off a train as a sign of efficiency can be important.) ;-)
@Pei Welcome back to Beijing with the Subway checks. They are now a fact of life and hand-checks are being phased out “thanks to” (sarcastically) what happened in Moscow…
I was in BJ during the summer olympic game in 08. It was very surprising how difficult it was to go around about the city by Metro especially the connections between different lines. The walking often is very long… with so many people and in the summer, it was bad.
I also had very bad experiences with the train station in Shenzhen. There is no place to dropoff/pickup people… everybody had to use the overhead bridges which none has an elevator. It was quite a work if you have any luggage, or if you were traveling with elders. I don’t think these are just about cost… considering that both cities have countless malls with escalators and elevators. In the metro case… considering how much money was put into the city to get ready for that game… also the metro issues you mentioned above, money should not be the issue.
Something is lacking in the thinking of civic engineering… it is an odd field to see that user experience is not important. As WJS said “Convenience is not a priority”… then what is the priority… just build a “project”?!