Temporary road allows access to Pudong T2 during construction
Vehicles drive to the T2 terminal through a temporary road on Saturday.
Vehicles arriving at Shanghai Pudong International Airport's T2 terminal will have to take a slight detour from Saturday to allow for construction of the city's airport express line.
The work started at 11pm on Friday on the line's Pudong Airport Station which is scheduled to be completed in 2023.
The 68.6-kilometer express line is expected to shorten the travel time between Pudong and Hongqiao airports to less than 40 minutes from 90 minutes upon completion in 2024. The line will have nine stations across Xuhui and Minhang districts as well as the Pudong New Area.
Part of the S1 Yingbin Expressway to the T2 terminal has been closed to traffic for the construction. Vehicles now have to detour to a temporary road over the sightseeing pond of the airport and through the ground floor of the P1 parking garage.
Those taking public transport to the airport and arrivals going to downtown from both terminals won't be affected, along with the vehicles heading to T1, said Ji Liqun, deputy director of the engineering department for the project.
"Drivers to the T2 terminal will have clear guidance and notices, which have been set up overnight every 50 meters along the new road," Ji said.
Part of the S1 Yingbin Expressway to the T2 terminal is closed to traffic.
Work starts on part of the S1 Yingbin Expressway.
Due to the height limit of the P1 garage, buses higher than 3.8 meters now have to drive to the shuttle bus center near the P4 garage. Passengers can take a free shuttle bus there to the T2 terminal.
Passengers who drive to the airport do not need to allow for extra time.
A traveler surnamed Li drove to the T2 terminal an hour earlier than usual to catch her Flight CA3265 from Pudong to Xi'an in northwest Shaanxi Province, but found she was more than two hours early.
"After entering the S1 Yingbin Expressway, I followed the densely spotted signage and entered the P2 garage smoothly," Li said. "I just took a slight additional detour near the T2 terminal that takes about three minutes."
Since the ground floor of the P1 garage has been converted into the temporary road, buses now have to be parked at the nearby P2 garage. Smaller-size cars can still be parked in the B1 and B2 of the P1 garage which has over 2,300 slots.
As of 10am on Saturday, no congestion had occurred despite the closure of the road. About 800 cars were parked in the P1, while 600 were parked in P2, accounting for only a third of the total parking capacity, said Li Zhongyuan, an airport official taking charge of the garages.
Vehicles follow signage to drive to the T2 terminal of Pudong airport through a temporary road on Saturday morning.
No congestion occurrs on Saturday.
As one of China’s first batch of 11 demonstration city railways approved by China’s development and reform commission, the nation’s top planning body, the express line will be able to connect with the nation’s railway system and the intercity transport network of the Yangtze River Delta region in the future.
It will run through the Hongqiao transport hub, Qibao historical town, Huajing Town, Sanlin Town, Zhangjiang High-Tech Park, Shanghai International Resort, Pudong International Airport as well as the planned new terminal building of Pudong airport and Shanghai East Railway Station.
Currently, passengers can take Metro Line 2 or an airport bus between the two airports. This takes between 70 and 90 minutes, depending on whether commuters use the maglev in addition to the Metro.
The express line will not only benefit transit passengers at both airports, but also make it more convenient for citizens to travel around the city. It will further improve the pivotal and service functions of both airports to the Yangtze River Delta region, according to the city government.
The line will also improve the city’s business environment, enhance Shanghai’s core competences and strongly support the national strategy of integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region.
Based on the standards of the nation’s railway system, the line’s designed speed will be 160 kilometers per hour. About 88 percent of the project will run underground. Above ground, travel will be on elevated rails.
Construction has started on the Pudong Airport Station.
The express line will connect the city's two airports.
