Airport Link Line (Shanghai Suburban Railway)

The Airport Link Line^[4] is a commuter rail line of the Shanghai Suburban Railway,^[4] running from Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2 in Minhang District to Shanghai East railway station in Pudong. The 68.6-kilometer (42.6 mi) express line^[2][3] shortens the travel time between the airports of Hongqiao and Pudong from 90 minutes (by Metro Line 2) to under 40 minutes. Construction started in June 2019. The Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2 to Pudong Airport Terminal 1&2 section of the line started operations on 27 December 2024.^[5]

Airport Link Line
Airport Link
A 4-car train at Zhongchun Road station
Overview
Native name	市域机场线[1]
Status	Completed
Locale	Minhang, Xuhui, Pudong Shanghai, China
Termini	Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2 Shanghai East railway station
Connecting lines	2   9   10   15   17   19   21   27   Maglev   Jiamin   Nanhui
Stations	9
Service
Type	Higher-speed rail/Airport rail link
System	Shanghai Suburban Railway
Operator(s)	Shentong Metro Group
Depot(s)	Xiayan Road Depot Shenkun Road Depot
Rolling stock	4-car / 8-car Class C (Express train) trains
History
Commenced	June 28, 2019; 6 years ago (2019-06-28)
Opened	27 December 2024; 7 months ago (2024-12-27)
Technical
Line length	68.6 km (42.6 mi)[2][3]
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrification	Overhead lines (AC 25 kV)
Operating speed	160 km/h (99 mph)
Route map Legend km elev  Jiamin  from Chengbei Road  Demonstration Area  from Shuixiangketing Beijing–Shanghai HSR Beijing South  17  to Xicen  2  to Panxiang Road Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2 Jiamin line Shanghai–Jiaxing  2   10   17  National Railway | level A | level B  10  to Jilong Road reserved for  Maglev  Hongqiao temporary maintenance yard Shanghai–Kunming railway to Shanghai Shenkun Road EMU depot Xujiahui–Hongqiao railway Zhongchun Road main line metro  9  ( Songjiang – Caolu )  12  ( Dongjing – Jinhai Road ) Dianpu river Shanghai–Kunming railway  Jinshan  Kunming Jinshanwei Shanghai–Kunming HSR ( Kunming South)  Jiamin  ( Yindu Road)  5  (Xinzhuang ) ( Minhang Development Zone/Fengxian Xincheng)  15  (Gucun Park )  1  to Xinzhuang Shanghai South  Jinshan   1   3   15  (main line | metro station) Shanghai South freight yard  1  to Fujin Road  3  North Jiangyang Road  23  Shanghai Stadium  23  Minhang Development Zone  15  ( Jinghong Road)  19  ( Hongjian Road) Jinghong Road  15   19  (metro station)  Fengxian  ( Fengxian) South Sanlin  19   Fengxian   19  (Baoshan Railway Station )  8  ( Shendu Highway – Shiguang Road )  18  ( Hangtou – South Changjiang Road )  16  ( Longyang Road – Dishui Lake )  11  ( Disney Resort) (North Jiading/Huaqiao ) East Kangqiao  21  metro station  21  Dongjing Road Shanghai International Resort  Maglev  Longyang Road Shanghai–Suzhou–Nantong railway to Zhaodian Pudong Airport Terminal 1&2  2   Maglev  metro Shanghai East  21   Nanhui  Pudong Terminal 3  Nanhui   Maglev   2   21  Xiayan EMU Depot Shanghai East freight yard Shanghai–Suzhou–Nantong railway to Situan  Nanhui line  North Dishuihu km This diagram: view talk edit

Description

The line begins at Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2, heads south along the east side of the Shanghai-Hangzhou Passenger Dedicated Line, crosses the Shanghai-Hangzhou Railway Passage, and then turns to the east and travels along Chunshentang, 1.6 kilometers (0.99 mi) south of S20, after crossing the Huangpu River. Walk on the south side of S20 and S1, pass through Pudong International Airport, and then follow the north side of S32 into Shanghai East railway station. The line is 68.6 kilometers (42.6 mi) long,^[2][3] the elevated section of which is 4.313 kilometers (2.680 mi), the at-grade section 2.578 kilometers (1.602 mi), and the underground section 60.448 kilometers (37.561 mi). The project is divided into east and west construction. The west section is located in Minhang District, starting from Hongqiao Hub in the west and ending at the east end well of Huajing station in the east. It has a total investment of 9.549 billion yuan.

A large tunnel boring machine was used for construction, developed by Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co. The shield, named Qiyue, or "swift horse", weighs around 3,200 tons and is 99 meters (325 ft) long. It has 14-meter (46 ft) diameter blades, whereas normal blades used to dig the city's metro lines are 6.9 meters (23 ft). It can dig and push 60 millimeters per minute (12 ft/h) underground.^[6]

The first section of the line opened on 27 December 2024 with seven stations in operation.^[5] Initially, passengers can only transfer without paying fares again at Zhongchun Road, from which they can travel on Line 9 and subsequently connect to other Shanghai Metro lines using the same ticket.^[5]

Operation

A rail transit style service is in operation, with the platform design, train schedule, and other aspects being similar to metro lines. Customers can use public transportation cards to enter and exit the station.^[7] The interval between trains is about 15 minutes initially.^[8] First and last trains from Pudong and Hongqiao airports depart at 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. and arrive at their destination 39 minutes later.^[9] Pudong International Airport, the Resort station and the termini have platforms with lengths reserved for 16-car national railway trains while other stations can accommodate 8-car suburban railway Type C trains.

Stations

Stopping pattern

• All stations: All stations from Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2 to Pudong Airport Terminal 1&2 (Future: Shanghai East railway station)
• Express: From Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2 to Pudong Airport Terminal 1&2 (Future: Shanghai East railway station), only stop at Shanghai International Resort during the journey. However, the express is only planned and won't run at the initial stage after opening until further notice.

Route		Station name		Connections	Distance km		Location
Mainline	Express	English	Chinese[2]		Segment	Overall
●	●	Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2	虹桥2号航站楼	Jiamin   Demonstration Area  (u/c, with through trains on both lines)  2  10   17  (via Hongqiao Railway Station)[a] AOH SHA	0	0	Minhang
●	|	Zhongchun Road	中春路	9	5.200	5.200	Minhang / Songjiang
●	|	Jinghong Road	景洪路	15   19 [b]	14.692	19.892	Minhang
●	|	South Sanlin	三林南	19  [b]	4.965	24.897	Pudong
●	|	East Kangqiao	康桥东	21  [c]	12.543	37.400
●	●	Shanghai International Resort	上海国际旅游度假区		6.065	43.465
●	●	Pudong Airport Terminal 1&2	浦东1号2号航站楼	2   Maglev [a] PVG	15.113	58.578
		Pudong Airport Terminal 3	浦东3号航站楼	21  2  Maglev  Nanhui  (u/c, through operations) PVG[d]	3.658	62.236
		Shanghai East Railway Station	上海东站	21   Nanhui  PVG[d]	6.444	68.680
Note: Out-of-system transfer with Metro and Maglev lines. Line 19 under construction Line 21 under construction All lines and connections are either planned or under construction

Through operations

• Through operations from Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2 to Chengbei Road on the  Jiamin  are scheduled.
• Through operations from Pudong Airport Terminal 3 to Lingang on the  Nanhui  are scheduled.

Important stations

In terms of operation mode, a public transit-style railway operation is adopted. The platform design, train schedule, and other aspects are similar to subways, and citizens can use the Shanghai public transport card to enter and exit the station.

Approximately 88 percent of the line will run underground while the remaining sections will be elevated. The above-ground section is between Qibao and Huajing stations.^[10] There are 7 underground stations and 2 ground level stations. It will use EMU trains with a maximum operating speed of 160 km/h (99 mph).

Future extensions

A branch line from Shanghai South Railway Station to the Airport Link Line South Sanlin Station will be constructed, so that through operations to/from  Jinshan  will be available.

Technology

Rolling Stock

Shanghai Suburban Railway Airport link line rolling stock
Fleet numbers	Manufacturer	Time of manufac- turing	Class	No of cars	Formation[i]	Manufacturer Model	Number	Notes
80	CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles	2023-2024	C (Express train)[ii]	4 8	TMc+Mp+Mp+TMc TBA	CCD2031	JC40011-JC40144 JC80011-JC80038	14 sets of 4 cars, 3 sets of 8 cars.
TMc: Trailer car with cab and motors; Mp: car with motors and pantograph. Class C (Express train) carriage: 24.5m in length, 3.3m in width and 3.8m in height; Capacity: about 290 people.

• 
  JC4001 (4-car set)
• 
  JC8001 (8-car set)