My 2013 visit to Shanghai was only for a few days, so I didn’t get much time to look around the city. None the less, here are a few suggested places for a railfan to visit.
The obvious
The Shanghai Maglev is the obvious first thing to check out – it run from Shanghai Pudong International Airport to the outskirts of central Pudong.
From there you can explore the Shanghai Metro.
Line 4 having elevated tracks.
And Line 2 has stations without platform screen doors.
The Pudong Airport end of Line 2 is another section of elevated tracks.
Haitiansan Road Station allowing you to watch Shanghai Maglev trains speed past at 431 km/h.
The odd
The banks of Huangpu River at The Bund are a popular tourist spot.
To watch the sun go down over Pudong.
But in the backstreets you can find a forgotten mode of public transport – electric trolleybuses.
And down below is a one-of-a-kind mode of transport – the cable hauled trains of the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel.
Meanwhile a long way off the beaten tourist track is another unusual beast – the rubber tyred Zhangjiang Tram, the vehicles guided by a central rail and powered by overhead wires.
And a spot to watching passing trains
Finally, I managed to find a nice spot to watch the procession of mainline trains departing Shanghai Railway Station.
Diesel locomotives shunting them into the platforms.
Then departing behind mainline electric locomotives.
I also saw a handful of China Railway High-speed trains sharing the tracks.
To get to the spot, head to the south plaza at Shanghai Railway Station.
And head west to the main road.
And follow it up to the Hengfenglu Junction bridge over the railway.
Like so.
Footnote
I also managed to find a carriage yard beside Baoshan Road station on Lines 3 and 4 of the Shanghai Metro.
All I had to do was peer over the walls of the elevated station.
