New metro line runs over Huangpu River

The extension of metro Line 5, the first metro line in Shanghai to cross the Huangpu River on a bridge, has been put into trial operation.

Covering 16.1 kilometers, the new extension southward links Dongchuan Road station and Fengxian Xincheng station. It crosses the Huangpu River from Minpu Second Bridge.

Together with the newly opened Phase Two and Three of Line 13, the new extension increases the total length of Shanghai's operational metro lines to 705 kilometers, making it the longest urban rail transit system in the country. The addition of the new extensions also increase the total number of subway stations to 415.

Some of the highlights of the new extensions include intelligent robots, bilingual ticket vending machines and an audio navigation application for the blind.

According to the Shanghai urban rail transit plan, the city will have a total of 27 lines with a combined length of 1,154 km by 2023.

A subway train runs on the Minpu Second Bridge over the Huangpu River. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]