3 new subway lines open in Shanghai

Commuting has just become easier for Shanghai residents with the opening of three new subway lines. The lines connect the city's suburbs to the downtown area. Shanghai now has the longest subway system of any city in China, and the seventh longest in the world. Pan Deng has the story.

3 new subway lines open in Shanghai

The new Lines 6, 8 and 9 are extended sections of two existing lines, 1 and 4. Shanghai's subway lines are now about 230 kilometers long.

Shanghai has 160 subway stations, including the newly established terminal station of Line 8, next to the venue of the 2010 Shanghai Expo.

The city's transport authority says the extension will provide better passenger access to one of the most crowded metro systems in the world.

"I live in the suburbs. It used to take me over 2 hours to get to the downtown area. Now with the new lines, it only takes 30 minutes."

The new routes have made Shanghai's underground system cover 13 of its total 16 districts.

The Shanghai metro will extend for 400 kilometers with 13 lines in 2010, when the city hosts the World Expo.

Shanghai's first metro line was built in 1993.