Longer, safer, smarter: 30 years with Shanghai Metro

Wang Rongjiang Jiang Xiaowei Dong Jun Zhang Suoqing Shen Xinyi
The Shanghai Metro is celebrating its 30 anniversary on May 28. Let's go back in time and celebrate the Metro's achievements while looking forward to a bright future.
Wang Rongjiang Jiang Xiaowei Dong Jun Zhang Suoqing Shen Xinyi

Shanghai Metro is celebrating its 30 anniversary on May 28. It has changed the fabric of Shanghai's urban landscape, and its expansion has influenced where people reside and do business. Taking the Metro has already become an integral part of life for millions of residents and travelers.

When we reflect on the past 30 years, we can see the remarkable accomplishments and numerous ways in which the Metro has affected our lives. So let us go back in time and celebrate Metro's achievements while looking forward to a bright future.

Congratulations, Shanghai Metro!

Longer, safer, smarter: 30 years with Shanghai Metro
Wang Rongjiang / SHINE

A young woman uses a coin-box telephone in a Metro station on Line 1 in 1995.

Longer, safer, smarter: 30 years with Shanghai Metro
Dong Jun / SHINE

Commuters buy tickets at the People's Square Station on May 30, 2005. There were two Metro lines at that time.

Longer, safer, smarter: 30 years with Shanghai Metro
Wang Rongjiang / SHINE

Mobile TV appeared on Shanghai Metro in 2005.

Longer, safer, smarter: 30 years with Shanghai Metro
Dong Jun / SHINE

Automatic ticket vending machine, which accepted banknotes, appeared in Shanghai Metro stations in 2005.

Longer, safer, smarter: 30 years with Shanghai Metro
Shen Kai / SHINE

During the peak time, the temperature in the subway carriage of Line 2 reached 30 degrees in 2006 summer.

Longer, safer, smarter: 30 years with Shanghai Metro
Dong Jun / SHINE

Screen doors were installed in all 12 underground stations of Line 1 in 2006. The picture shows Hanzhong Road Station under construction.

Longer, safer, smarter: 30 years with Shanghai Metro
Zhang Suoqing / SHINE

An ancient tomb was discovered on November 21, 2006, on the construction site of Shanghai Metro at the crossroads of Xujiahui Road and Huangpi Road.

Longer, safer, smarter: 30 years with Shanghai Metro
Dong Jun and Jiang Xiaowei / SHINE

The reading habits of Metro commuters have changed in the past 30 years – 2007 (left) 2020 (right) .

Longer, safer, smarter: 30 years with Shanghai Metro
Zhang Suoqing / SHINE

New security doors were installed in Shanghai Metro in 2009.

Longer, safer, smarter: 30 years with Shanghai Metro
Zhang Suoqing / SHINE

The tunnel of the first phase of Metro Line 13 was connected on March 1, 2012. Starting from May 28 in 1993 when Metro Line 1 launched its trial operation, Shanghai Metro now has expanded to 831 kilometers.

Longer, safer, smarter: 30 years with Shanghai Metro
Wang Rongjiang / SHINE

Chen Xin, with the help of her guide dog, takes the subway to work in a supermarket on April 1, 2014, Blind people are able to bring their guide dogs to public transportation.

Longer, safer, smarter: 30 years with Shanghai Metro

A maintenance worker inspects a Metro carriage at 2am on May 5, 2017. Three groups – train maintenance, signal information maintenance and cleaners – work at the Meilong Base on Line 1, getting the lines and trains ready for operation before 3:30am every day.

Longer, safer, smarter: 30 years with Shanghai Metro
Jiang Xiaowei / SHINE

On January 20, 2018, the Metro began testing QR code for entry.

Longer, safer, smarter: 30 years with Shanghai Metro
Jiang Xiaowei / SHINE

The 5,000th Metro train carriage rolls into the Beidi Road parking area in Shanghai on July 19, 2018.

Longer, safer, smarter: 30 years with Shanghai Metro
Jiang Xiaowei / SHINE

The first "Expo Train" of Line 2 was launched on July 25, 2018 ahead of the first China International Import Expo.

Longer, safer, smarter: 30 years with Shanghai Metro

The statue of Liu Jianhang, chief engineer of Shanghai Metro when Line 1 was constructed in 1990, was unveiled at Xujiahui Station on August 13, 2021.

Longer, safer, smarter: 30 years with Shanghai Metro
Wang Rongjiang / SHINE

The Yuyuan Station on Line 14, which started operation on December 30, 2021

Longer, safer, smarter: 30 years with Shanghai Metro
Dong Jun / SHINE

Passengers on Line 15 enjoy a view of the tunnel ahead. Line 15, which opened in 2021, is not the first Metro line to operate without a driver. Currently, Shanghai has five diverless lines, namely Line 10, 14, 15, 18 and Pujiang.


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