Shanghai government has adopted a plan to extend the subway network to 510 kilometers and build 10 multi-level underground transfer hubs by 2010.

The plan, announced by the Shanghai Urban Planning Administrative Bureau yesterday, will extend both ends of Rail Transport No. 2 to connect the Hongqiao airport with Pudong airport.

The 19-kilometer line will be extended 9.4 kilometers west to Hongqiao International Airport and 29.2 kilometers east to Pudong International Airport.

The extended line will compete for passengers with the maglev line, the world's first commercially operated magnetic levitation line that cost the city government 8.9 billion yuan (US$1.07 billion).

"The new RT No. 2 will be a regular means of transport while maglev is a 'special route' that meets only some people's needs," said Chen Youhua, a senior engineer of the Shanghai Urban Planning and Design Research Institute.

The maglev line connects the Pudong airport with Longyang Road Station and its fare is about 20 times that of the subway, but the maglev train runs four times as fast as a subway train.

"I don’t think maglev will sharply adjust its price to lure passengers because of its high cost of construction," Chen said.

The price of a one-way maglev ticket has recently been slashed from 75 yuan to 50 yuan to attract passengers.

According to the plan announced yesterday, the subway system, which will include 12 lines by 2010, will guarantee commuting takes less than 45 minutes within the city downtown.

The downtown part of the network will extend 332 kilometers, 21 kilometers longer than in the plan announced about a year ago.

It's hoped the new plan will get central government approval this year, bureau officials said.

The under-construction RT No. 4, which had a serious cave-in accident last July, will probably resume its original ring-shaped route in the city downtown linking Pudong and Puxi, officials said.

The city has 82 kilometers of subway in operation, with another 22 kilometers under construction.

Also in the plan, the city government expects to improve use of underground space by building 10 multi-level transfer station complexes --- each up to four stories deep.

The complexes will include restaurants, shopping centers and entertainment venues.

They will be built at Longyang Road and Century Avenue subway stations in the east; Xujiahui, Zhongshan Park and Jing'an Temple stations in the west; Shanghai South Railway Station in the south; Wujiaochang, Dalian Road and Hongkou Football Stadium stations in the north; and People’s Square in the city center.

(Shanghai Daily 18, 2004)