Major boost for public transport

    LIFE is about to get easier for Shanghai commuters.The city will improve public transportation this year by increasing bus service on one of the busiest roads in the city’s downtown area and building more Metro lines, said Shanghai Mayor Yang Xiong yesterday.

    As part of an effort to make Shanghai a “City of Public Transport,” construction will start this year on the medium-capacity project (traffic system with hourly capacity of 15,000 passengers) along Yan’an Road, Yang told the local legislative body in his annual report.

 According to a preliminary plan, 18-meter-long electric buses will transport passengers on the 14km-long stretch of the road connecting Huangpu, Jing’an and Changning districts, an official with the local transport commission’s planning department said yesterday.The buses will travel along special lanes in the middle of the road, and Metro stations and platforms will be built beneath the Yan’an Road Elevated Highway, the official added.

    The new transport project will replace some of the existing bus lines on the road, he added. There are currently over 60 on the road, which poses major traffic challenges, especially during peak times.Meanwhile, Shanghai will speed up construction on 216 kilometers of subway lines this year, including the southern extension of Line 5, Line 14 and Line 17, Yang said.

    The total length of the subway system will reach 800km by 2020, the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period, Yang said.The current total length of the city’s Metro lines is 588km, which is 165km more than five years ago, according to Yang.Other major transportation projects this year include construction on the Shanghai-Nantong railway and the Beiheng Corridor, Yang said. The corridor will connect Changning Road in Changning District and Zhoujiazui Road in Yangpu District.

    The Changjiang Road West Tunnel to connect Baoshan District and the Pudong New Area across the Huangpu River will be completed by the end of the year, Yang said.