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Maglev to Shanghai city centre from Airport


montelco

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:confused:Hi, Has anyone done the trip from the Airport into the Shanghai city centre on the Maglev with luggage? How long does it take? Where does it drop you off and how much would it cost? Can you then get a taxi easily to your hotel which is near a subway line interchange or would it be worth trying to do the subway with luggage? A bit dubious about the latter transfer bit because of crowds but we are very keen to try the Maglev. Thanks.

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The Maglev train runs from the Pudong Airport to a terminal station only half way into the Shanghai city centre .

 

Train wise you now have two options from Pudong Airport: :

 

1. Take the Maglev train (goes at 430 kmh) and at its Terminal station, you transfer to the regular Metro into the City.

 

2. You can now also take the regular Metro from Pudong Airport all the way into the City .

 

Shanghai is a frighteningly big city over 18m people and at first it can be quite intimidating, just by its sheer size, signs in Chinese etc. Unless you know a Metro station close to your Hotel, I would take the Maglev train as far as it goes then get a taxi direct to your Hotel . Taxis are not expensive in Shanghai .

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:confused:Hi, Has anyone done the trip from the Airport into the Shanghai city centre on the Maglev with luggage? How long does it take? Where does it drop you off and how much would it cost? Can you then get a taxi easily to your hotel which is near a subway line interchange or would it be worth trying to do the subway with luggage? A bit dubious about the latter transfer bit because of crowds but we are very keen to try the Maglev. Thanks.

 

Hi montelco,

I've been to Shanghai, but I haven't done this trip yet (may do it next month after we arrive in Shanghai if we can't find other alternatives) so I can't comment on the luggage. But the MagLev only offers airport express service so wouldn't the majority of passengers have luggage? Anyhow, the MagLev cost 40 RMB (~6USD) if you're arriving/departing the aiport on the same day; otherwise it's 50 RMB (local currency only). The 8-minute MagLev ride stops at the Longyang Road Metro Station (the only stop). From there, your best bet is to take a taxi to your hotel/city centre. Your other option would be to take the subway after you get of the MagLev, but if you have to switch subway lines and/or switch to a bus, then I wouldn't chose this option. Taxis rates are quite reasonable in Shanghai. (Our ride from west Nanjing Rd to the downtown pier was less than 20RMB.) Also, you might want to have your destination written out in Chinese characters because most taxi drivers won't understand English. Hope this info helps.

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as the previous poster mentioned, cab drivers for the most part do not speak english.

 

i used a car service to get to the cruise port on the bund, it was only about 40 bucks. for the tiny price difference, i wouldn't hassle with the train. the service was waiting for me outside baggage claim/customs/immigrations. absolutely hassle-free.

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:confused:Hi, Has anyone done the trip from the Airport into the Shanghai city centre on the Maglev with luggage? How long does it take? Where does it drop you off and how much would it cost? Can you then get a taxi easily to your hotel which is near a subway line interchange or would it be worth trying to do the subway with luggage? A bit dubious about the latter transfer bit because of crowds but we are very keen to try the Maglev. Thanks.

 

My wife and I went to Shanghai on our own for three days ahead of a Viking cruise this past June and the advice I have for the maglev and metro is as follows. We only needed a taxi once while we were there, we used the metro for everything else in the city.

 

Maglev:

DO THE TRAIN! It is an incredible experience and very easy. Depending on the time you take the train it is either 7 minutes 20 seconds or 8 minutes and 10 seconds to make the 19 mile trip at a max speed of 268 MPH. The trains depart every 15 minutes from 6:45am - 5:00pm and then every 20 minutes after 5pm.

 

Luggage is not a problem at all as there is plenty of leg room and overhead storage for smaller bags. The cost is cheap and it is a great experience. The maglev goes straight from Pudong airport to Long Yang Rd. Metro station which is in Pudong and not technically the center of the city. Long Yang Rd. metro station is easy to transfer to if you are taking the metro, but there are also lots of taxis outside the maglev station. Where are you staying? It may be easier to take a taxi from the maglev station.

 

Shanghai Metro:

The Shanghai metro is easy to use after a trip or two, but if your first time is at Long Yang station it can be a bit overwhelming given the amount of people trying to buy tickets at the Long Yang station (it is a popular station). The ticket vending machines are dual language so that is the easy part, but you need to have currency smaller than 100 Yuan notes as the ticket machines do not take notes that large. 20 or 10 Yuan notes are best and change will be given in coins.

 

As for luggage, it is not bad, but you do have to roll it through a turnstile and through a X-ray scanner unless you see a Subway employee which can help you through the handicap entrance. Once on the subway it is easy as you will likely be standing with your luggage.

 

Once you are comfortable buying tickets the metro is easy, cheap, and safe. The metro in Shanghai is very extensive, so you can almost always get close to where you are trying to be. Take a minute to read a map though, sometimes it is quicker to go backwards from your destination to make an appropriate line change to a more direct line.

 

The Shanghai metro is quite new, so it is clean and the trains are new and the stations are also nice. Below is a link to more information about the metro:

http://www.urbanrail.net/as/shan/shanghai.htm

 

As others mentioned in the end it may be easier to take a taxi from the airport, but in my opinion you will miss one of the world's great train rides and that is not worth it - IIRC the fastest commercially operated train at this time.

 

Steve

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I should have also said that I am very familiar with the metro in Shanghai and if you let me know where you are staying I can tell you the best way to get there and if it would be easier with a taxi.

 

IMO, you never can really experience the "real" city through a taxi or car service, it is always great to get into the local mode of transportation.

 

Steve

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if you let me know where you are staying I can tell you the best way to get there and if it would be easier with a taxi.

 

Steve

 

Hi Steve:

 

Thanks for the web reference for the subways - didn't realize that it would be five or so pages!

 

We get in mid-evening at Pudong and the rail experience sounds like fun. We are at the Raddison New World and I suspect that a taxi might be easier - what do you think?

 

Thanks.

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Hi Steve:

 

We get in mid-evening at Pudong and the rail experience sounds like fun. We are at the Raddison New World and I suspect that a taxi might be easier - what do you think?

 

A taxi may indeed be easier, especially if you would be on the subway between 4:00pm and 6:00pm. This is the most busy time, and line 2 (the one you would use) is one of the heaviest used lines in the system.

 

With that said though, aside from the crowds it would be pretty easy to use the metro to get to your hotel. Simply transfer from the maglev to the metro at Long Yang Rd. station and take line 2 to People's Square (Renmin Square).

 

Give to your taxi to get to the Radisson address (from Goolge translator):

上海新世界丽笙大酒店

南京路88号(宽),上海200003,中国

 

So to get to your hotel the first time it may be easier to take a taxi from the Maglev station, but after that I would highly recommend the metro to get around as you are staying beside a huge transfer station that lets you get on line 2, 1, or 8. Trains come every few minutes on most of the metro lines, so you never have to wait long at all (the longest we waited was about 5 min, but we just missed a train and that was on line 9). People's Square station is HUGE once you are underground, so there can be some walking to get to the line you are looking for, but everything is well marked in numbers and colors for each line. BTW, there are some vendors underground that sell some items for a good price, so keep an eye out for deals!

 

Steve

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Hi Steve,

 

We would be happy to use the Metro to get about, but from what I have read, it is not disabled friendly.

 

My partner has problems both going up and down steps (in fact, going down is even worse than up) and I have read that generally the escalators only go up, and that lifts/elevators are not always easy to find.

 

Can you comment on this?

 

Cheers,

 

Sue

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we caught the maglev and metro to Nanjing Rd. At certain times of the day they supposdly reduce the maximum speed the train travels at. I was very dissapointed to see our train was one of the reduced speed services. I couldn't hide my excitement :D as the train zoomed past 300kmh and up and over 400!!!

 

the one thing to note with the maglev is that there are (or were 2 years ago) no escalators down to the platform. So providing you can carry your bags down to the platform you'll be fine.

 

At the other station there was an escalator down to ground level where we walked across to the metro station. good english signage on the ticket machines. had to lift bags over the turnstyles if I remember rightly.

 

We decided we'd splurge and paid for the fancy seats (twice as much but still cheap we reckoned!!). we went down the opposite side of the stairs to everyone else. there were four of us in the cabin. we both moved from side to side to take pictures. it was a fantastic experience and a brilliant intro to our cruise out of Shanghai. just wish it had been longer!!

 

I think I posted a video of the trip on our travelpod blog. Select the blog 'Legendary Cruise down the coast of Asia' from our travelpod link in my signature

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Hi Steve,

 

We would be happy to use the Metro to get about, but from what I have read, it is not disabled friendly.

 

My partner has problems both going up and down steps (in fact, going down is even worse than up) and I have read that generally the escalators only go up, and that lifts/elevators are not always easy to find.

 

Can you comment on this?

 

Cheers,

 

Sue

 

That is true. Nearly all stations have escalators going down, but not up (some have both). There are elevators at the major stations, but they can be difficult to find given the amount of people that use the major stations. Shanghai is better than Beijing in this respect as their system is newer, but still they lack what Europeans and Americans have made standard at all stations (in regards to handicapped accessibility).

 

With that said, most of the lines/stations are not as deep as some cities, so the distance going down or up is not too far.

 

Steve

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the one thing to note with the maglev is that there are (or were 2 years ago) no escalators down to the platform. So providing you can carry your bags down to the platform you'll be fine.

 

 

I am almost certain, though not sure, that there are now escalators and one elevator down to the platform at Pudong International. On the other end of the line there are both, IIRC, but the elevators were not signed.

 

Steve

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Hi Steve,

Thanks for all those helpful hints. We're staying at the Asset hotel which is apparently near junction of line 8 which I have been trying to find on maps. Got good reviews from Trip Adviser. Will probably get a taxi by the sounds of it from Pudong. Then the adventure begins! Want to see Suzhou as well. :)

 

 

 

 

My wife and I went to Shanghai on our own for three days ahead of a Viking cruise this past June and the advice I have for the maglev and metro is as follows. We only needed a taxi once while we were there, we used the metro for everything else in the city.

 

Maglev:

DO THE TRAIN! It is an incredible experience and very easy. Depending on the time you take the train it is either 7 minutes 20 seconds or 8 minutes and 10 seconds to make the 19 mile trip at a max speed of 268 MPH. The trains depart every 15 minutes from 6:45am - 5:00pm and then every 20 minutes after 5pm.

 

Luggage is not a problem at all as there is plenty of leg room and overhead storage for smaller bags. The cost is cheap and it is a great experience. The maglev goes straight from Pudong airport to Long Yang Rd. Metro station which is in Pudong and not technically the center of the city. Long Yang Rd. metro station is easy to transfer to if you are taking the metro, but there are also lots of taxis outside the maglev station. Where are you staying? It may be easier to take a taxi from the maglev station.

 

Shanghai Metro:

The Shanghai metro is easy to use after a trip or two, but if your first time is at Long Yang station it can be a bit overwhelming given the amount of people trying to buy tickets at the Long Yang station (it is a popular station). The ticket vending machines are dual language so that is the easy part, but you need to have currency smaller than 100 Yuan notes as the ticket machines do not take notes that large. 20 or 10 Yuan notes are best and change will be given in coins.

 

As for luggage, it is not bad, but you do have to roll it through a turnstile and through a X-ray scanner unless you see a Subway employee which can help you through the handicap entrance. Once on the subway it is easy as you will likely be standing with your luggage.

 

Once you are comfortable buying tickets the metro is easy, cheap, and safe. The metro in Shanghai is very extensive, so you can almost always get close to where you are trying to be. Take a minute to read a map though, sometimes it is quicker to go backwards from your destination to make an appropriate line change to a more direct line.

 

The Shanghai metro is quite new, so it is clean and the trains are new and the stations are also nice. Below is a link to more information about the metro:

http://www.urbanrail.net/as/shan/shanghai.htm

 

As others mentioned in the end it may be easier to take a taxi from the airport, but in my opinion you will miss one of the world's great train rides and that is not worth it - IIRC the fastest commercially operated train at this time.

 

Steve

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Hi Steve,

Thanks for all those helpful hints. We're staying at the Asset hotel which is apparently near junction of line 8 which I have been trying to find on maps. Got good reviews from Trip Adviser. Will probably get a taxi by the sounds of it from Pudong. Then the adventure begins! Want to see Suzhou as well. :)

 

Yes, there are three basic ways to get to the hotel:

 

Maglev/Taxi:

Maglev from the airport to Long Yang Rd. Station and then a taxi to your hotel.

Estimated Time: 35min

Cost:Maglev $7.62 + Taxi $5 = $12.62

 

Maglev/Metro:

Maglev from the airport to Long Yang Rd.Station transfer from the Maglev to Line 7 at Long Yang Rd. Station. Take line 7 to Dong An Rd. Exit at the No. 3 exit to Ling Ling Rd. then turn right at Wan Ping Rd. and then the walk about 10 min.

Estimated time: 45min

Cost: Metro: $.76 + Maglev $7.62 = $8.38

 

Taxi from airport to hotel:

Estimated time: 60-80 minutes depending on traffic.

Cost: $27-$33

 

Good luck!

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Thanks for the input. I think we'll stick to taxis.

 

I'm afraid that even a few steps can be too many, especially juggling bags.

 

I ackknowedge the barriers faced by people in wheelchairs but often there is more sympathy and hence planning for their accessibilty than for people who are on their feet but with major difficulties. As well as the sheer physical problems of coping with steps, there is the fear of being knocked over and the awareness of your slowness blocking other people. This is almost as much an issue in Western countries as it is in Asia.

 

Sorry, rant over!!!!!

 

Cheers,

 

Sue

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We are coming to Shanghai off the Diamond Princess in April and would like to have a ride on the train to the airport and back. Can you tell me where we would pick up the train in Shanghai and can we just stay on the train and ride back. How do we get tickets and the cost, thanks.

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We are coming to Shanghai off the Diamond Princess in April and would like to have a ride on the train to the airport and back. Can you tell me where we would pick up the train in Shanghai and can we just stay on the train and ride back. How do we get tickets and the cost, thanks.

 

If you are in Shanghai then you would get on the Maglev at Long Yang Rd. station in Pudong. I am not sure if they allow you to stay on the train for the return trip or if you would change to another train, but all trains arrive and depart on the two tracks in the station, so it would be fairly easy to do even if you had to change trains. From reading their website (below) it looks like you might have to get off the train and then get in line to get back on...but that really is not a big deal as it is all in the same terminal.

 

The Round Trip ticket is currently 80 Yuan, or about $12.00. Tickets can be bought at the station or online. I would just buy them at the station as if you buy them online you get a voucher that you have to exchange at the ticket booth anyway. They accept cash or credit cards at the ticket booth. Tickets and trains are on the second level of the station at Long Yang Rd.

 

Steve

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