Airport link line (Shanghai Suburban Railway) explained

Airport link line (机场联络线)
Type:Higher-speed rail/Commuter rail
System:Shanghai Suburban Railway
Status:Under construction
Locale:Minhang, Xuhui, Pudong
Shanghai, China
End:Shanghai East railway station
Stations:9
Planopen:2024
Operator:Shentong Metro Group
Depot:Xiayan Road Depot
Shenkun Road Depot
Stock:4-car / 8-car Class C (Express train) trains
Linelength:68.6NaN
Tracks:2
Electrification:Overhead lines (AC 25 kV)
Speed:160km/h
Map State:collapsed

Airport link line of Shanghai Suburban Railway is a commuter rail line currently under construction in Shanghai.[1] It runs from in Minhang District to Shanghai East railway station in Pudong. The 68.6km (42.6miles) express line[2] is expected to shorten the travel time between the airports of Hongqiao and Pudong from 90 minutes (by Metro Line 2) to under 40 minutes. Construction started in June 2019. The line is expected to open at the end of 2024.[3]

Description

The line leads from, heads south along the east side of the Shanghai-Hangzhou Passenger Dedicated Line, crosses the Shanghai-Hangzhou Railway Passage, and then turns to the east and travels along Chunshentang, 1.6km (01miles) south of S20, after crossing the Huangpu River. Walk on the south side of S20 and S1, pass through Pudong International Airport, and then follow the north side of S32 into Shanghai East railway station. The line is 68.6km (42.6miles) long, of which, the elevated section is 4.313km (02.68miles), the at-grade section is 2.578km (01.602miles), and the underground section is 60.448km (37.561miles). The project is divided into east and west construction. The west section is located in Minhang District, starting from Hongqiao Hub in the west and ending at the east end well of Huajing station in the east. It has a total investment of 9.549 billion yuan.

It will use a large tunnel boring machine for construction, developed by Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co. The shield, named Qiyue, or "swift horse", weighs around 3,200 tons and is 99m (325feet) long. It has 14m (46feet) diameter blades, whereas normal blades used to dig the city's metro lines are 6.9m (22.6feet). It can dig and push 60mm/min underground.[4]

Operation

A rail transit style operation is adopted, with the platform design, train schedule, and other aspects being similar to metro lines. Citizens can use public transportation cards to enter and exit the station.[5] Pudong International Airport and Resort station and the termini have a reserved length for 16-car CRH6F trains while other stations will accommodate 8-car Class C (Express train) stocks.

Stations

Service routes

RoutesStation nameConnectionsDistance
Location
MExT
Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2
(via)
00Minhang
|| align="center" |●||| | 5.200| 5.200|Minhang / Songjiang|-|align="center"|●|align="center"||Jinghong Road (u/c) (via)14.69219.892Minhang
|| align="center" |●||| (u/c)| 4.965| 24.897|rowspan="6"|Pudong|-|align="center"|●|align="center"||| align="center" |●||| (u/c, via)| 12.543| 37.400|-|align="center"|●|align="center"||| align="center" |●|||| 6.065| 43.465|-|align="center"|●|align="center"|●| align="center" |●||| (via)
Shanghai Pudong Airport APM| 15.113| 58.578|-|align="center"|●| | align="center" |●||| (planned) (planned) Shanghai Pudong Airport APM (planned, through operations)| 3.658| 62.236|-|align="center"|●| | align="center" | ||Shanghai East railway station|| (planned) (planned) (planned) (u/c)| 6.444| 68.680|- style = "background:#; height: 2pt"| colspan = "9" ||}

Through operations

Important stations

In terms of operation mode, a rail transit-style bus operation is adopted. The platform design, train schedule, and other aspects are similar to subways, and citizens can use the Shanghai public transport card to enter and exit the station.

Approximately 88 percent of the line will run underground while the remaining sections will be elevated. The above-ground section is between Qibao and Huajing stations.[6] There are 7 underground stations and 2 above-ground stations. It will use EMU trains with a maximum operating speed of .

Future extensions

A branch line from Shanghai South Railway Station to the Airport Link Line South Sanlin Station will be constructed.

Technology

Future Rolling Stock

Fleet numbers Manufacturer Time of
manufac-
turing
Class No
of
car
Assembly Rolling stock Number Notes
80 2023-2024 C (Express train) 4
8
TMc+Mp+Mp+TMc
TBA
TBA JC40011-JC40144JC80011-JC80038
Airport link line14 trainsets are formed as 4 carriages, 3 trainsets are formed as 8 carriages.

Notes

Notes and References

  1. Web site: City lists 'remarkable achievements' in improving people's livelihoods. 2022-01-21. Construction of the first phase of Metro Line 20 will start this year and will be accelerated on the Chongming Line and Airport Link Line. https://web.archive.org/web/20230125143210/https://english.eastday.com/Shanghai/auto/u1ai8728089.html. 2023-01-25.
  2. Web site: 【图说】来了!上海市域铁路机场联络线. 上海申铁. 2024-08-16. https://archive.is/yNuQ8. 2024-08-20.
  3. Web site: 大盾构穿越运营高速 上海机场联络线建设迎新进展. 2022-12-10. 上海机场联络线正线全长68.6公里,途经上海市闵行区、徐汇区和浦东新区3个区,全线设虹桥站、七宝站、浦东机场站等9座车站。上海机场联络线预计将于2024年建成运营.
  4. Web site: Super shield for airport express line unveiled . shine.cn . 28 October 2020 . Yang . Jian.
  5. News: The underground high-speed railway from Pudong Airport to Hongqiao Airport starts. Seetao . 2020-11-20 .
  6. https://www.shine.cn/news/metro/2006281038/ Work starts on Pudong section of airport express link