The numbers 7, 9 and 11 lines of the Shanghai underground railway system will run into pilot operation by the end of this year, according to the local transport authorities. By then, the Shanghai metro will total 350km, ranking it third in the world, behind London and New York.

Shanghai started building its first line in 1993. In the succeeding 16 years, the city has built eight lines totalling 250km and 170 stations. The daily traffic volume exceeds 4m, more than the average of 3m on the London Underground.

By April 2010, one month before the start of Shanghai Expo, the city will operating 11 lines, covering 430km and transporting 5.5m passengers every day.

The operational length of China’s urban rail network stood at 776km at the end of 2008, according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.
These lines, located in 10 Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, handled 2.21bn passenger trips last year, reported China Daily.

Currently, 50 rail transit projects involving a total length of 1,154km are being constructed in 15 Chinese cities, according to the ministry. A total of 22 cities across the country are expected to build 79 rail transit lines with a total distance of 2,260km by around 2015. The total cost is expected to exceed Rmb882bn.