Shanghai Daily News

The northern extension of the city's Metro Line 1 was opened on a trial basis yesterday morning.

Authorities expect about 160,000 people to use the line every day.

The extension starts from Shanghai Railway Station and runs to Gongfu Xincun Station, extending the total length of Metro Line 1 to 32.5 kilometers with 25 stations in all.

On the first day of the initial use of the extension line, hundreds of thousands of residents lined up to ride the line.

According to Shanghai Metro Operation Co Ltd, more than 1,000 passengers had made their way through Pengpu Xincun Station by 7am, one hour after the line opened. The entire line had handled 35,000 people by 11am.

"It can save me nearly two hours each day," said Chen Ganglin, who resides in Gongfu Xincun in Baoshan District but works on Dongfang Road in Pudong.

"The ride to work is so convenient for me now that I will sleep longer from now on," he smiled.

The interval between trains of the extension line is expected to be 12 minutes during rush hours.

But passengers complained the interval is too long.

"I hope the interval can be shortened and more trains can be put into operation," said one local resident.