Shanghai South Railway Station will usher in the “high-speed rail era” on January 5 next year, with high-speed trains accounting for 60% of the trains operated.
On December 30th, reporters from Shanghai Railway Station (which covers Shanghai Railway Station, Shanghai South Railway Station, Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station, Shanghai Songjiang Railway Station, West Shanghai Railway Station, North Xiangyang Railway Station, Anxing North Railway Station, Anxing West Railway Station, Jinshan North Railway Station and Liantang Railway Station) learned that on December 20th, 2024, after nearly six months of work, Shanghai South Railway Station will pass the static acceptance of its upgrade and transformation project. The overall project is nearing completion. After the implementation of the national railway train operation diagram in the first quarter of 2025, Shanghai South Railway Station will welcome the first high-speed train and officially enter the “high-speed rail era.” It is expected that the daily passenger flow will reach 50,000 people, an increase of more than 40% over the past, and the proportion of high-speed trains will reach 60%.
Located in the southwest of Xuhui District, Shanghai, Shanghai South Railway Station is the world’s first round-top light transmitting railway station. It was opened for operation on July 1st, 2006. The station has six platforms and 13 tracks, with a station building area of about 56,000 square meters. It is closely connected with Metro Line 1, Line 3, Line 15 and the long-distance passenger station, serving as the “south gate” of Shanghai’s land connections with the outside world.
吕红梅, deputy director of the Shanghai South Passenger Workshop at Shanghai Railway Station, said that the upgrade and transformation project of Shanghai South Railway Station started on July 1st, 2024. During the改造period, the station adopted a “operate while construct” model and successfully completed the upgrade of passenger transportation, building construction, commercial activities, and advertising.
After adjusting the layout of the waiting hall, the Shanghai South Railway Station’s waiting area has been increased by about 2,500 square meters of effective waiting space, with the number of passengers accommodated expanding to 9,000. “To reduce the waiting time for passengers to go through security check and enter the station, we have increased the number of security scanners from nine to 20 and the number of real-name verification gates from 20 to 40. The security check capacity can be increased to 10,000 passengers per hour. New four carriage-style reset single-way doors are also installed next to the security check channels for the convenience of passengers carrying large luggage to exit the station,” said吕红梅。
吕红梅 also revealed that after the train diagram adjustment on January 5th, Shanghai South Railway Station plans to operate 118.5 pairs of trains, an increase of 31.7% over the previous period. Among them, high-speed trains will account for 60%, mainly covering short-distance destinations such as Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Huangshan, as well as medium and long-distance directions such as Xiamen, Nanchang, Zhengzhou, and Changsha. At the same time, in order to meet passenger travel needs, the station will also retain 11 pairs of conventional trains for popular destinations such as Chongqing, Wuchang, Nanning, and Guangzhou. After the upgrade, Shanghai South Railway Station’s transport capacity has increased significantly, with expected daily passenger flow reaching more than 50,000 people, an increase of over 40% from previous levels.
Shanghai South Railway Station has also optimized and upgraded its “Xinshang” service studio, which includes a military personnel waiting area, a priority passenger waiting area, a children’s play area, and a maternal and child room. A dedicated check-in channel has also been opened. Notably, the station has upgraded its 24 toilets with a new “third toilet” design that integrates barrier-free facilities for children and mothers with a new ventilation system and hand warmer engineering. The station’s static signs and integrated display systems have also been fully upgraded with clearer and more prominent signs and more accurate guidance. In addition, convenience services such as self-service areas, self-service charging stations and newly installed smart temperature-controlled drinking water fountains have been added in the waiting room. The existing ticket office has also been upgraded to a comprehensive service center, making it easier for passengers to handle ticket-related business through a “one-window” service model.
“Compared with new construction projects, renovation projects tend to be more complex and challenging. This project has created a new structural system of ‘movable shelter with assembly sliding tracks’, efficiently completing the replacement of more than 60,000 square meters of roof sun panels and the renovation of 43,000 square meters of perforated aluminum plates.
