PASSENGERS will be able to get to Hongqiao International Airport's new terminal via Metro Line 2 from Tuesday. But those with flights from the old terminal will need to take shuttle buses after getting off the subway. Line 2 is expected to connect the city's two airports, Hongqiao and Pudong, before the 2010 World Expo begins in May.

Shao Weizhong, director of the city's Metro operator, said passengers should check which terminal they needed to go to before they started their journey and allow themselves more time for their journey.

The only way between the airport's two terminals is by free shuttle buses which will take 15 to 20 minutes from the new terminal to the old one. Carriers for flights to Japan and South Korea and one domestic airline, Spring Airlines, still have their services at the old terminal. Other domestic carriers will switch to the new terminal.

Passengers with late-night flights are advised that Line 2 only runs until 10:50pm.

It is estimated that passengers taking about 30 flights at night might not be able to use the subway. Shao said the Metro operator is working with the airport operator on a solution to the problem. "Adding extra services after the last regular train is a possibility," Shao said.

Otherwise, passengers will have to take night buses or taxis.

Line 2's current west-end terminal is Songhong Road but this will extend to Qingpu District's Xujingdong Station by Tuesday.

The tunnel section between Songhong Road and Hongqiao Airport Terminal 2 Station is the longest in the city, with 5.8 kilometers of track, a journey that will take five minutes.

By Tuesday, the line will have two services in operation.

 

One will run between Songhong Road and Guang-lan Road with an interval time of 3 1/2 minutes. The other will be from Xujingdong to Guanglan Road with a interval time of 10 minutes.

The Metro operator also reminded passengers that the Hongqiao Railway stop will remain closed until the railway hub opens.