SHANGHAI, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- The total length of operational lines in Shanghai were extended to 705 kilometers on Sunday with the trial operation of two extension lines, allowing the city to retain its claim to having the longest subway systems in the country.
The Line 5 extension and the second and third phase of Line 13, which both cover 16.1 km, went into trial operation on Sunday, cutting down the time between the downtown area and the suburbs.
Intelligent inquiry robots, bilingual ticket vending machines and an audio navigation application for the blind were introduced at stations along the new lines.
According to a Shanghai urban rail transit plan (2018-2023), Shanghai will have 27 lines with a total length of 1,154 km.