Shanghai South Railway Station

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For information on the metro station of the same name, see Shanghai South Railway Station (Shanghai Metro)

Passengers heading for Departure

Shanghai South Railway Station (Chinese: 上海南站; pinyin: Shànghăi Nánzhàn) is a railway station in the city of Shanghai. Located in the Xuhui District, its importance is second only to the Shanghai Railway Station. After extensive renovation that was finished in 2006, the station features a circular design, the first of its kind in the world.

1 Connections
2 History
3 Station
4 Metro connection
5 Sources

[edit] Connections

Shanghai South Station serves trains to cities of the Yangtze River Delta (most notably Hangzhou, formerly departing from Meilong Station) and the Southern provinces of China, including the Shanghai-Hong Kong Route. After Shanghai West Railway Station was abolished, it has also taken over some trains heading to China's northern areas.

[edit] History

Shanghai South Railway Station was originally constructed in 1908 as the terminus of the Shanghai-Hangzhou railway line.

An extensive redesign has been carried out until 2006 by AREP (Paris), ECADI (Shanghai) and MaP3 (structural engineer - Paris), making the new station the world's first circular railway station. With the reopening, two minor Shanghai railway stations have been closed: Shanghai West Railway Station in Putuo District and Meilong Station near Jinjiang Park. All railway connections of these stations have been moved to Shanghai South Railway Station, and according to estimates, up to 40% of passengers of Shanghai Railway Station will be diverted in the new station.

[edit] Station

The Station is located in the southwestern part of Xuhui District, occupying sixty hectares of land. Contrary to most Chinese railway stations, which are overcrowded and regarded as unsanitary and unpleasant by many, the new look of South Station has a very clean, airport-like look and feel. The station itself is elevated 47 meters above ground and has a diameter of some 270 meters. It is made out of polycarbonate and aluminium sunblades, and supported by 18 branche shaped beams relying on 3 columns each. The steel structure weight is 6000 T, for 56 000 square meters, and 150 m maximum span. The steel structure was built by Shanghai Jiangnan shipyard and erected by SMCC.

An electronic display board at Shanghai south railway station's Soft seat area with a list of departures

The trains arrive below the waiting areas, which are not interrupted by the structure itself, which is roughly divided into three levels. The mid-level contains the station platforms, at the same rough height as ground level, and contains thirteen tracks and six passenger platforms. The VIP waiting section and the Public Security Office is also on this level. In addition the mid-level has direct access to the northern and southern squares. The upper level is the departure level. With a circumference of over 800 meters, the waiting area can fit over 10,000 passengers at any given time. Passenger tickets are also validated in this area. The lower level is the arrivals level, which contains various tunnels to exit the station and the waiting area of the Line 1 and Line 3 in the Shanghai Metro system. In the future it will also contain a transfer tunnel to the newly opened L1 Line as well as access to long-distance bus transit and tourist groups. The underground of the North and South Squares has various commercial establishments and a parking lot.

The Soft Seat waiting area requires a ticket in the Soft Class of the train to access. The seating in the area is generally more comfortable, and it is an enclosed area, with security personnel on shift at the entrances. The regular waiting area is in the middle of the station, and can house thousands of passengers. The VIP waiting area is only accessible with special identification, such as diplomatic documents.

[edit] Metro connection

Shanghai South Railway Station is serviced by Shanghai Metro Line 1 or Line 3 via the interchange station of the same name, which is within walking distance from the train station. Transfer corridors in the station building allows indoor transfer between the train station and the metro station.