Report on the maglev train to Shanghai Pudong airport
 

I posted this earlier in the Asia section but thought I'd cross post here as well:

I had the opportunity to try out the maglev this trip and thought I'd post some pictures and give a report. They started operating the train on a daily basis this year and lowered the ticket prices. We weren't able to use it on arrival as the hours of operation are limited (something like 8:00am-5:00pm) but took it on the way back to airport. The maglev operates between Shanghai Pudong airport and Longyang station with a train departing every 15-20 minutes for the 8 minute long, 20km or so ride. First of all if you're wondering where the heck Longyang station is, it's still in Pudong, along metro line 2, about 5 stops from Liujazui station (near the Grand Hyatt) and 7 stops from People's Square station in Puxi. The maglev would be so much more useful if it terminated somewhere closer to Puxi. As it stands it's more of a novelty than a convenient way to get to/from the airport IMHO.

The regular one way fare for standard class is 50 yuan. With a same day air ticket, the price is reduced to 40 yuan. When I bought my maglev ticket, they never even glanced at my air ticket, so flashing an air ticket for any day will probably get you the discounted fare. There's also a VIP class which is about 2x the standard class fare. I didn't take a look in the VIP cars but imagine it's probably 2/2 seating vs. 3/3, perhaps with more attendants. There are speed indicators in every car and much of the time is spent accelerating and decelerating to the top speed of 432km/hr. There were more passengers on board than I expected. I'd say it was about 2/3 full.

On arrival at the Pudong airport station, you walk across a long covered corridor (it probably wasn't that long, but being 100 degrees and unairconditioned, it felt really, really long) to the airport terminal. An elevator takes you one level up to departures or down to arrivals. As far as getting to/from Longyang station, you can take the metro (if you have very little luggage) or a taxi. On board the maglev there's plenty of room for your luggage either overhead or in a larger storage space as you board the car although it's not really something I recommend doing with a lot of luggage. They also xrayed luggage but didn't xray any personal belongings like purses, briefcases, shopping bags, etc. As a means of airport transportation, the entire process is more complicated and cumbersome than just taking a cab, but everyone seemed to have this level of giddy excitement just to be on board with lots of picture snapping.

Maglev photos:

http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=jy877nh...0&y=aie21j

aaahhhhhh soooooo.....TAR6?

Hi Patty,

I'll be spending a couple of days in either Shanghai or Suzhou at the end of a tour in Mid-November. Your pictures were fascinating, and I can use either airport when I leave, so I'm thinking it might be fun to try the maglev. Where exactly is the station? I haven't yet decided whether I will stay the extra nights in Shanghai or Suzhou, and the location of the station might help me decide.

Thanks!

Hi Chinagal,
The maglev station is located in the Pudong area of Shanghai and connects with Shanghai Pudong international airport. It covers a short distance of approx 20km. There are no plans to extend the maglev line any farther into the city. The city of Shanghai is bisected by the Huangpu river, the older area on the west side of the river is referred to as Puxi ("xi" being the Chinese word for "west") and the newer area on the east side of the river is Pudong ("dong" being "east"). Do you know where you'll be staying in Shanghai? Most of the tourist sights are concentrated in Puxi as Pudong has only been developed in the last 10 years or so. To get to the station from the central part of Shanghai, you would take metro line 2 heading east and get off at the Longyang Rd station. The metro station connects directly with the maglev station. Or you can take a cab from your hotel to the maglev station (might be easier with luggage) which is what we did. From the Grand Hyatt it took about 15-20 minutes by taxi to get to the station. From anywhere on the Puxi side, it will take longer. Hope this helps.

Patty,

Thanks for the detailed info. Still haven't figured out whether to base in Shanghai or Suzhou, but if I decide on Shanghai, I'll either stay at the Westin or the Broadway Mansions--depending upon how much(if any)money I have left by that time!! Can't wait!! Thanks again.

thanks for all the great info!

Patty, did you happen to notice if there were any hotels in the area of the PVG airport? I have searched the Internet and am unable to find any. Since I have an early morning departure (before mag-lev runs) I would like to spend my last evening out at the airport vicinity. Appreciate any advice that you might be able to provide. Clarence

Hi Clarence,
There is a Ramada near Pudong Airport:

http://ramadainternational.com/ramad...rshaCode=PVGAP

How's the trip planning going? Did you decide to go to Tibet?

Patty