Shanghai's Metro Line 7 opens

(AFP PHOTO/LIU Jin)

The first section of Line 7 on the Shanghai Metro opened to passengers on December 5, after four years of construction.

Services on the line will run along 34 km (21.38m) of newly laid track, serving 26 stations and running at speeds of up to 80 km/h (49.71 mph). The newly opened phase of the line connects the northern Baoshan district to Pudong New Area.

Also named the "Expo Line," Line 7 is designed to serve visitors of the 2010 Shanghai Expo, which opens May 1 and is expected to attract 70 million attendees during its six-month run. Line 7 is part of a significant transport overhaul taking place in Shanghai and expected to be completed by May.

Engineers are also working to complete Line 11 and an extension of Line 9 before May. The Shanghai Metro system carries over 3 million people daily and is the fifth largest (by total track length) in the world.

The World's Longest Metro Systems

1. London Underground
2. New York Subway
3. Tokyo (Tokyo Metro and Toei Subway)
4. Moscow Metro
5. Shanghai Metro