Keolis opent nieuw geautomatiseerd metrosysteem op Shanghai International Airport

On 16 September 2019, Keolis' Chinese joint venture Shanghai Keolis, began operating the new automated Shanghai Pudong International Airport metro, which connects two terminals and two satellite halls opened on the same day. The contract to operate and maintain the metro network was awarded by Shanghai Airport Authority to Shanghai Keolis in October 2017 for a period of 20 years. This is the second automated metro network that Shanghai Keolis operates in China.

With 60 million travellers per year, Shanghai Pudong International Airport is the ninth busiest airport in the world. The expansion of the airport with two satellite halls aims to address the growth in passenger numbers to Shanghai, which expects to be welcoming 80 million passengers per year.

The Shanghai Pudong international airport Passenger Rapid Transit system – expected to carry 250,000 passengers per day – is 7.8 km long and operates 24/7. It features CBTC technology, meaning it can be operated at higher frequencies and speeds in complete safety with or without a driver. The Rapid Transit System has a driver on-board: starting and stopping are automated, but a driver operates the doors, drives the train (if required) and handles emergencies. The service headway at peak times is 5 minutes and 10 minutes at night.

90 Shanghai Keolis employees – including drivers, passenger service agents and maintenance staff – will all play a part in enhancing the passenger experience. Built by Chinese manufacturer CRRC, the trainsets are 94-metres long and can accommodate up to 800 passengers.

Present in China since 2014, Shanghai Keolis employs some 500 people and carried more than 7.5 million passengers in 2018. In addition to Shanghai Pudong International Airport's automated metro, Shanghai Keolis operates the Shanghai Pujiang automated metro line (Shanghai's first automated metro line) and the Shanghai Songjiang tramway network.