| Lingang Medium Transport Volume | |
| Alt2: | Two Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit vehicles parked together in Shanghai, China |
| Area Served: | |
| Transit Type: | Rapid transit system |
| Lines: | 3 |
| Line Number: | Lines 1–3 |
| Stations: | 26 |
| Key People: | --> |
| Operator: | Shanghai Lingang Public Transport Company (临港公交) |
| System Length: | 47.95km (29.79miles) |
| Top Speed: | 70km/h |
| Map Name: | System map as of 2023 |
| Map State: | collapsed |
The Lingang Medium Transport Volume, also known as Lingang Digital-rail Rapid Transit (Lingang DRT), is a rapid transit system operating within Lingang in Pudong District, Shanghai, China. It started operations on 30 June 2021, and is operated by the Shanghai Lingang Public Transport Company (abbreviated in Chinese as 临港公交). The system operates as an Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit (ART) system, but conventional bus rapid transit-specification buses currently run on the system too.
The Lingang DRT is the third modern street rail system in Shanghai after the Zhangjiang and Songjiang Trams and the first ART system in the city. It is also the world's first ART to make use of digital rail-guided rubber-tired vehicles, which rely on magnetic guiding systems as opposed to other ART systems which are optically guided.[1] [2] [3]
The Lingang DRT consists of the following lines, all of which charge a flat fare of 2RMB:
Plans for a rapid transit system went as far back as 2012, when Sun Jianping, then-chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Transport Commission, announced plans to construct multiple modes of rapid transit systems, including Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and trams in a number of regions, including Shanghai Corniche, Songjiang, Lingang and Hongqiao Business District.[6] A tram system within Lingang was initially announced in 2013, however there were no announcements following that.[7]
In 2016, initial plans to build a medium capacity transit system in Lingang was announced, with the ability to be converted to a large capacity system.[8] This was followed by an announcement that the system will have five lines, all of which are able to connect with Metro Line 16, totalling 82km (51miles) in May 2018, after which the number of lines was increased to six with a length of 115km (71miles) in April 2020.[9]
In July 2020, the possibility of a digital rail-guided rapid transit system was raised, and this was implemented shortly afterwards.[10] Construction for the first line, Line 1, started in August, with plans to use electricity-powered cars with the possibility of changing to hydrogen-powered ones later.[11] Line 1 began test operations on 1 January 2021, with Vice Secretary-General of Shanghai Municipal Government and Vice Director of Lingang Special Area Zhu Zhisong announcing the official departure of the first test run. Line 1 eventually opened to the public on 30 June 2021.[12]
Construction for the second line, Line 2, commenced in late 2021. Originally scheduled to start operations in the first half of 2022, the opening date was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Testing for Line 2 began in August 2022, and the line commenced operations on 28 November 2022. The vehicles used on Line 1 are powered by hydrogen, the first such line to do so. Line 2 initially ran between Dishui Lake Metro station and Shuihua Road.[13]
On 1 April 2023, operations were transferred from Lingang Rapid Transit to Lingang Public Transport . Both companies are subsidiaries of Lingang Investment Holdings Group.[14]
The routes of both lines 1 and 2 were amended on 1 July 2023. Under this amendment, Line 1 stops at additional stops, while Line 2 is now running as a loop with the terminus located at Dishui Lake station.[15] On the same day, Sunwin iEV12 electric buses of BRT specifications entered service. These buses have doors on both sides to cater to normal roadside bus stops and stops built for the system at the middle of the road.
Line 3, which was originally named line 6, began operations on 5 July 2023.
The following is a list of stations along each route of the system:
| Station Name | Transfer | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Chinese | |||
| Dishui Lake | Chinese: 滴水湖 | (Dishui Lake station)Line 2 | ||
| West Huanhu Road No.3 at Lingang Avenue (Shanghai Astronomy Museum) | Chinese: 环湖西三路临港大道（上海天文馆） | Line 2 | New stop from 1 July 2023 | |
| East Shengang Avenue (Youth Activity Center) | Chinese: 申港大道东（青少年活动中心） | |||
| Guzong Road (Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital East) | Chinese: 古棕路（临港六院） | |||
| Meirenjiao Road (Lingang Center) | Chinese: 美人蕉路（临港中心） | |||
| Shangyuan Road | Chinese: 上元路 | |||
| Ganlan Road | Chinese: 橄榄路 | |||
| Shuihua Road | Chinese: 水华路 | New stop from 1 July 2023 | ||
| Ganghui Road | Chinese: 港辉路 | |||
| Feidu Road | Chinese: 飞渡路 | Line 3 | New stop from 1 July 2023 | |
| Yunduan Road | Chinese: 云端路 | |||
| Pengping Road | Chinese: 彭平路 | |||
| Hongyin Plaza | Chinese: 鸿音广场 | |||
| Station Name | Transfer | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Chinese | |||
| Dishui Lake | Chinese: 滴水湖 | (Dishui Lake station)Line 1 | ||
| West Huanhu Road No.3 at Lingang Avenue (Shanghai Astronomy Museum) | Chinese: 环湖西三路临港大道（上海天文馆） | Line 1 | ||
| East Shengang Avenue (Youth Activity Center) | Chinese: 申港大道东（青少年活动中心） | |||
| Guzong Road (Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital East) | Chinese: 古棕路（临港六院） | |||
| Meirenjiao Road (Lingang Center) | Chinese: 美人蕉路（临港中心） | |||
| Shangyuan Road | Chinese: 上元路 | |||
| Shengang Avenue | Chinese: 申港大道 | New stop from 1 July 2023 | ||
| Qiqing Road | Chinese: 杞青路 | |||
| Lingang Avenue | Chinese: 临港大道 | (Lingang Avenue station) | ||
| Lingang Avenue at West Huanhu Road No. 3 (Shanghai Astronomy Museum) | Chinese: 临港大道环湖西三路（上海天文馆） | |||
| Dishui Lake | Chinese: 滴水湖 | (Dishui Lake station)Line 1 | ||
| Station Name | Transfer | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Chinese | |||
| Feidu Road | Chinese: 飞渡路 | Line 1 | ||
| Zhengjia Road | Chinese: 正嘉路 | At the boundary of Pudong and Fengxian districts | ||
| Xinyang Highway | Chinese: 新杨公路 | |||
| Xueliu Road | Chinese: 雪柳路 | |||
| Caoxuan Road | Chinese: 草萱路 | |||
Prior to their amendments on 1 July 2023, line 1 used electric Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit vehicles, bearing a modified version of the livery used on regular Lingang Public Transport buses, while line 2 used a hydrogen-powered vehicle with a brown livery. These vehicles are built by CRRC Nanjing Puzhen, and have three carriages with each carriage having one door on each side, totalling three doors per side. Each car has a length of 30 meters, and are capable of carrying 300 passengers, which is around the capacity of three to four regular public buses.
However, since the aforementioned date, both lines 1 and 2 have begun using Sunwin iEV12 (exact model designation: SWB6129BEV95G) buses as their fleet. These buses have doors on both sides.[16]
Line 3 uses vehicles that are similar in specifications to line 2, but with a green livery instead of brown.
The system has been noted by Shanghai media Wenhui Bao as one of the successes for the exportation of the DRT technology to foreign countries. In April 2023, CRRC Nanjing Puzhen began to produce DRT vehicles for lines 4, 5 and 6 of the Metrorrey system in Monterrey, Mexico.[17] The vehicles were unveiled on 29 October that year, and began a one year trial in Monterrey.[18] [19]
A report by Shanghai Observer in May 2023 found that vehicles on line 1 were "unusually bumpy" and slow. According to an interviewee, a trip from the town of Nicheng to Dishui Lake, which would normally take 20 minutes by car and 40 minutes by bus, instead took over one hour by taking line 1. In addition, the arrival timing display was found to be extremely inaccurate. The system has also been plagued by low ridership, with only 70 people taking one trip of line 1 at its peak, and the remaining trips averaging at less than 30 passengers. Several car lanes were converted so that they were restricted to the system only; this change of use worsened traffic around the region.[20]
During a visit to Shanghai in October 2023, Hong Kong politician Ngan Man-yu visited the Lingang DRT system. He noted that with a high capacity of 300 people, the ability to navigate mountainous terrains and remain unaffected by adverse weather conditions, a DRT system could be suitable for use on the future East Kowloon line.[21] [22]