A train runs on the south extension of Metro Line 5 on Thursday.

The south extension of Metro Line 5 has passed its technical evaluations and will start operation by the end of this month, Shanghai Shentong Metro Group said.

It will be the first Metro line to run in suburban Fengxian District.

The extension starts from Dongchuan Road Station and ends at Fengxian Xincheng Station, covering 19.5 kilometers with nine stops.

After the extension opens, Line 5 trains will split up at Dongchuan Road Station, with the branch route going to Minhang Development Zone and the main route going to Fengxian Xincheng.

The four-carriage trains will only operate between Dongchuan Road and Minhang Development Zone Stations. Passengers from Minhang Development Zone to the terminal Xinzhuang Station will have to get off at Dongchuan Road and walk through the station hall to another platform before transferring to a six-carriage train.

Passengers from Fengxian Xincheng to Minhang Development Zone will also have to get off and transfer at Dongchuan Road, except they won’t have to go to another platform.

Dongchuan Road Station has been modified into a transport hub with a bus terminal and parking lot.

Zhou Kewei, chief of the station, said some 30,000 passengers travel in and out of the station every day — by 2020 that is expected to hit 110,000.

While building the extension line, Line 5 is also upgrading its signal system and existing platforms at stations already operating.

This is the first time that a line will be operating, upgrading and being built simultaneously.

As the first elevated Metro line that runs across the Huangpu River, the tracks on the Minpu Bridge crossing the river are designed to adapt to possible bridge deformations so that passengers will have a safer and more comfortable trip.