Line 17 (Shanghai Metro)

A map of Line 17 drawn to scale.

During the line's planning stages, it was initially envisioned as a western extension of Line 2 and designated R2w.[2] It also briefly took the designation of Line 20 before being officially renumbered to its current designation.[3] Construction began in 2014[4] and track-laying was completed on 12 May 2017.[5] The line debuted on 30 December 2017, when it opened for "soft" passenger trial operation.[6]

Train interior

Line 17 begins in Minhang District at Hongqiao Railway Station, which lies adjacent to the border with Qingpu District. The line then crosses into Qingpu District and traverses the length of the suburban district from east to west. It runs underground beneath Songze Avenue from Hongqiao Railway Station to just west of Panlong Road, where it continues on an elevated section, running on the south side of the road. West of Xujingbeicheng, the line leaves Songze Avenue and curves to the southwest, lining up again on an east-west route beside East Yinggang Road just before reaching Middle Jiasong Road. West of Zhaoxiang, the line again enters an underground section until just west of Dianshanhu Avenue. In this underground section, the tracks follow East Yinggang Road westward, before curving south under Caoying Road, and then southwest again beneath Dianshanhu Avenue. The remaining section of the line to the western terminus at Oriental Land is elevated and parallels the Huqingping Highway. There are a total of 13 stations, 6 elevated and 7 underground; the length of the line is 35.3 kilometres (21.9 mi).[7]

Hongqiao Railway Station, the eastern terminus of the line, is the only station that provides an interchange to other lines in the network. At the station, passengers can interchange to lines 2 and 10 without leaving the fare-paid zone. A cross-platform interchange is provided for passengers between Line 2 and Line 17. Eastbound passengers on Line 17 arriving at Hongqiao Railway Station can simply stay on the same platform, crossing the other side, to change to an eastbound Line 2 train. Similarly, westbound passengers bound for East Xujing coming from Line 2 can transfer to Line 17 by crossing to the other side of the platform. Transfers between Line 10 and Line 17 require passengers to ascend to the station concourse and change platforms. The station is also directly connected to Hongqiao Railway Station, which provides inter-city high-speed travel to destinations throughout China.[6]

The line is colored light brown within the Shanghai Metro system, and all stations are fully accessible. It is operated by Shanghai No. 2 Metro Operation Co. Ltd. (simplified Chinese: 上海地铁二运营有限公司; traditional Chinese: 上海地鐵二運營有限公司).[8]

The line is commonly referred to as the Qingpu line (simplified Chinese: 青浦线; traditional Chinese: 青浦線) because it is the first of its kind to extend far into Qingpu District, providing a fast commuter link connecting the downtown core of Shanghai with the primarily residential suburb. Metro service arrived in Qingpu in 2010 with the opening of East Xujing, the western terminus of Line 2. However, this station only services an area adjacent to the district's eastern border with Minhang.

Line 17 is known for its artistic elements embedded into its stations. Due to the proximity of the line to various cultural and scenic attractions, specifically the ancient water town of Zhujiajiao and Dianshan Lake, the line's theme is water towns and headstreams of Shanghai.[6]

Two service patterns are operated on the line. The primary service pattern, stopping at all stations end-to-end along the line, is provided at all times between 6:00 and 23:10. An additional service pattern, between Hongqiao Railway Station and Dianshanhu Avenue only, stopping at all stations, is operated during weekday morning and afternoon rush hours only.

During weekday morning and afternoon rush hours, the two combined service patterns provide a service interval time of 5 minutes between Hongqiao Railway Station and Dianshanhu Avenue, with an interval time of 10 minutes between Dianshanhu Avenue and Oriental Land. On weekday non-rush hour periods, the service frequency for the entire line is 8 minutes, and on weekends, the service frequency is shortened to 6 minutes.[6]

The line uses 28 6-car A-type trains built by Changchun Railway Vehicles. Unlike most Shanghai Metro lines, this line is operated using third rail electrification. The trains have an operating speed of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph).[9] Trains are stored at Xujing depot, located between Xuying Road and Xujingbeicheng, as well as Zhujiajiao yard, just west of Zhujiajiao.[10]

• Geographic data related to Line 17 (Shanghai Metro) at OpenStreetMap (westbound toward Oriental Land, eastbound toward Hongqiao Railway Station)