New Pudong terminal to open in September with subway lines
New subway trains are under testing at the Pudong International Airport to connect a new satellite terminal with T1 and T2 terminals.
The world’s largest satellite terminal building will be operating in September at the Pudong International Airport, along with an express subway connected with existing terminals.
The new terminal, known as S1 and S2, is about 700 meters from T1 and T2 terminals. The terminals will be linked by an underground subway.
The project is expected to provide faster transfer service and boost flight punctuality at the one of the busiest airports in China, the Shanghai Airport Authority said on Thursday.
Upon completion, the Pudong airport will be able to handle 80 million passengers annually. It served a total of 74 million passengers in 2018.
New subway trains have been undergoing tests at the airport as the express system readies for service.
The airport subway will be the nation's first of its kind. It is designed to transport 9,000 passengers per hour during peak periods.
Each train is about 94 meters long with four compartments, two for domestic passengers and the others for international travelers.
Screens for flight information and luggage racks have been installed for the subway trains at the Pudong airport.
Steel wheels and rails, the same with the city's Metro lines, have been used for the express subway to learn the experience from the mature Metro operation as well as improve the endurance, the airport authority said. Most other airports used automated trains and rubber wheels for its passenger transport system.
Each train is about 94 meters long with four compartments, two for domestic flight passengers and the others for international flight travelers. Screens for flight information and luggage racks have been installed.
Passengers will also be able to check in at one of the two existing terminal buildings and then take the subway — a ride of about three minutes — to get to the new facility. The subway train will have an interval of about two minutes and will be similar to the Metro lines, according to the airport authority.
Shanghai's two airports have been overburdened with huge turnovers of passengers and cargo that requires facilities upgraded.
The Pudong and Hongqiao airports handled over 117 million passengers both home and abroad in 2018, a 5.2 percent increase year on year, making it the world’s fifth busiest air hub after London, New York, Tokyo and Atlanta.
The airport authority has launched a series of expansion and renovation works, including the building of the satellite terminal that started in 2015.
