Shanghai has built the largest Metro train depot in Asia in readiness for the opening of the three new Metro Line 1 stations this month.

The depot, where trains are stored and serviced when not in use, has been built near Fujin and Yunchuan Roads in the city's Baoshan District, close to the Fujin Road Station - the new terminal of Metro Line 1 and one of the three new stations of its four-kilometer-extension.

The other two stations are the Bao'an Road Station and the Youyi Road Station.

Covering 30 hectares, the new depot can accommodate 54 eight-unit subway trains - 24 more than the current Meilong Subway Parking in Minhang District.

"The new depot will ensure the regular intervals between trains and save energy consumption," Wu Xinyi, a publicity officer with the Shanghai Shentong Metro Group which runs most of the metro lines, said yesterday.

Wu said the new depot will ensure the waiting time between trains on Metro Line 1 next year will continue at the current three minutes.

The largest Metro train depot in Asia will go into use in Shanghai's Baoshan District this month. Covering 30 hectares, the new depot can accommodate 54 eight-unit subway trains.

At present, Shentong has to run empty trains from the Meilong Subway Parking Station to the northern terminal of the Metro Line 1 for the first trains of the morning timetable.

This will be unnecessary when the new depot goes into use this month and can save 1.3 million kilowatt-hours of electricity every year - the equivalent of the annual power consumption of 1,000 families.

The city has more than 80 trains running on the five operating metro lines.

By 2010, Shanghai will have a subway network of 11 lines and many more trains will be working.

Each line usually has to have at least one depot for its trains. Metro officials are planning to shorten the waiting times for passengers.

(Shanghai Daily December 19, 2007)