Shanghai is quietly rebuilding its rail map, and for anyone who has ever groaned at the 90-minute schlep from Pudong to Hongqiao, the fix is finally coming.
Shanghai already has Shanghai Railway Station, Hongqiao, Songjiang and Shanghai South. But if you live in Pudong, catching a high-speed train has always meant the same groan: a 50 km cross-city haul to Hongqiao just to start the journey. That is about to change. As of 2026, five new stations are under construction or on the drawing board, and the biggest opens in July 2027. Here is what is coming, where, and when.
Good to know
- The big one: Shanghai East, 15 platforms and 30 tracks, sitting right beside Pudong Airport.
- A first for the city: at Shanghai East the walk from your train to the airline check-in gate is about 250 metres.
- Baoshan goes double-deck: China's second stacked station, and the northern end of Metro Line 19.
- Chongming joins the map: the island gets its first railway station, ever.
- More runway room: Pudong's new T3 terminal lifts the airport to 130 million passengers a year by 2028.
| Station | Where | Main lines | Target opening |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shanghai East | Pudong, Zhuqiao | Shanghai-Nantong, new Shanghai-Hangzhou, Airport Link | July 2027 |
| Baoshan | Baoshan, Yanghang | Shanghai-Nanjing-Hefei, Shanghai-Nantong phase 2 | July 2027 |
| Chongming | Chongming, Chengqiao | Shanghai-Nanjing-Hefei | Not yet announced |
| Jinshan | Jinshan | New Shanghai-Hangzhou line | Planned |
| Fengxian | Fengxian | New Shanghai-Hangzhou line | Planned |
Shanghai East: the second-biggest hub in the city
Shanghai East Railway Station sits right beside Pudong International Airport, in Zhuqiao, Pudong. The scale is hard to picture: 15 platforms and 30 tracks, three levels above ground and three below, with roughly 1.33 million square metres of floor area. It becomes the city's second-largest transport hub after Hongqiao.
What makes it different is the air-rail link. Shanghai East is the first station to fold in a dedicated air-travel module, so the walk from the rail exit to the underground airline check-in gate is only about 250 metres. You step off a train and check in for a flight without leaving the building. Lines include the Shanghai-Nantong railway, the new Shanghai-Hangzhou line, the coastal routes north and south, and the Airport Link tying it to Hongqiao Station, Hongqiao Airport and Pudong Airport.
Target opening: July 2027. If you have ever sprinted a tight connection between a flight and a train, this one is for you.
Baoshan: the double-deck station, also 2027
Baoshan Station is at Yanghang Town in Baoshan, near the G1503 Outer Ring and S20 expressways, where the Shanghai-Nanjing-Hefei high-speed line meets the second phase of the Shanghai-Suzhou-Nantong railway. With 8 platforms and 18 tracks, an 81,000 square metre concourse and 482,400 square metres in total, it becomes Shanghai's fourth-largest rail hub.
The clever bit is the layout: it is China's second station built on a double-deck track plan. The elevated level carries the Shanghai-Chongqing-Chengdu high-speed line (4 platforms, 8 tracks); the underground level takes the Shanghai-Nantong railway (4 platforms, 10 tracks). Baoshan is also the northern terminus of Metro Line 19, with room reserved for a future Baoshan-Jiading regional line.
Target opening: July 2027, in step with Shanghai East.
Chongming: the island finally gets a station
Chongming Station sits in Wan Nan Village, Chengqiao Town, about 1.5 km from Chongming's main urban area. It is a new stop on the Shanghai-Nanjing-Hefei high-speed line, kept modest at 2 platforms and 6 tracks, with roughly 10,000 square metres of station building.
The design includes a train-turning facility, which matters more than it sounds: it opens the way for future intercity services shuttling between Chongming and central Shanghai. Bus bays, taxi ranks, parking and a public plaza come with it. No firm opening date has been published yet, but once the new cross-river tunnel is running, Chongming will sit about 17 minutes from Shanghai Baoshan, the island's first fast link into the mainland rail network.
Jinshan and Fengxian: the planned additions
Jinshan Station will sit inside the block bounded by Hangzhou Bay Avenue, the G15 expressway, Tingwei Road and Caowei Road. It brings together the new Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed line, the Shanghai-Zhapu-Hangzhou railway and the existing Jinshan railway, cutting travel times to the city centre and around Hangzhou Bay. Taxi, ride-hailing, bike parking and a bus depot are planned.
Fengxian Station is another new stop on the same Shanghai-Hangzhou line, aimed at Fengxian New City. The city has not released detailed plans, so anything specific for now is unofficial.
About that line: the new Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed railway (earlier called the Shanghai-Zhapu-Hangzhou line) runs about 197 km from Shanghai East to Hangzhou West, 54 km of it in Shanghai. Design speed is 350 km/h, and when it opens it is expected to put Shanghai and Hangzhou roughly 40 minutes apart. It has nine stations: four new (Fengxian, Jinshan, Pinghu, Linping North), four rebuilt (Situan, Jiaxing South, Tongxiang, Hangzhou West) and one existing (Shanghai East).
Pudong Airport T3: the terminal that takes the pressure off
Pudong's new T3 terminal is the centrepiece of the airport's Phase Four expansion, south of the existing T1, T2 and satellite hall. It is designed for 50 million passengers a year, and once it is done the airport can handle 130 million a year.
The roofline leans into a flight pose, echoing the "spread wings" shapes of T1 and T2. When Phase Four finishes, Pudong will have three terminals, one satellite concourse and four runways, with more than 1.7 million square metres of terminal space. Construction started on 4 January 2022, and completion is expected in 2028.
What this means for living in Shanghai
If you live in Pudong or on the east side, Shanghai East cuts out the trip to Hongqiao entirely. In the north, Baoshan gives you a station instead of a long Metro ride. On Chongming, you stop being the last stop before a ferry. And if you fly often, the 250-metre rail-to-check-in walk at Shanghai East is a genuinely new kind of connection for the city.
Here is the part that actually changes your week, the journey times once each line opens:
| Trip, once open | Line | Journey |
|---|---|---|
| Chongming to Shanghai (Baoshan) | Shanghai-Chongqing-Chengdu (北沿江) | about 17 min |
| Shanghai to Hangzhou | new Shanghai-Hangzhou line | about 40 min |
| Shanghai (Baoshan) to Nanjing, Hefei | Shanghai-Nanjing-Hefei line | direct, no transfer |
Journey times are official targets for when each line opens (China Railway Shanghai Group and Shanghai media, 2025 to 2026).
Further out, once the Shanghai-Hangzhou line opens, Jinshan and Fengxian turn into real commuter options rather than once-a-year day trips. If you are weighing where to live outside the centre, the rail map is quietly redrawing that maths.
Common questions
When does Shanghai East Railway Station open?
July 2027, per China Railway Shanghai Group. It becomes the city's second-largest hub, and the first where you walk from the train straight to airline check-in for a flight.
Can I catch a high-speed train from Pudong now, or do I still go to Hongqiao?
For now, Hongqiao. High-speed passengers in Pudong still cross the city. Once Shanghai East opens in 2027, trains stop beside Pudong Airport and link through to Hongqiao.
Which stations are under construction and which are still just planned?
Under construction now: Shanghai East, Baoshan and Chongming. Still on paper with no start date: Jinshan and Fengxian, both on the new Shanghai-Hangzhou line.
Is the new Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed line open yet?
Not yet. As of 2026 it is still under construction, running from Shanghai East to Hangzhou West with nine stations.
When will Pudong Airport T3 open?
2028, as part of the airport's Phase Four expansion. It is built for 50 million passengers a year and lifts total capacity to 130 million.
Sources · 资料来源
- Station locations, specifications and target opening dates: China Railway Shanghai Group (中国铁路上海局集团 · 上铁集团) official announcements.
- Station renderings: China Railway Shanghai Group (中国铁路上海局集团). Maps and diagrams by Choice Shanghai.
- All opening dates are official planning targets and can move with construction and testing. Check the latest Shanghai transport and railway announcements before you travel. 开通时间均为规划目标，出行前请以官方公告为准。
千里之行，始于足下, a journey of a thousand miles begins beneath your feet, as Laozi wrote. Shanghai is spending this decade laying the first step: a station on the east side, a station on the island, a terminal where the rail meets the runway. A city grows the way a life does, not by leaping, but by shortening the walk.
Words, maps and research by the Choice Shanghai team. Please credit us and tag our 公众号 if you share.
