We're proud to announce that Explore Beijing is the first of our award-winning subway maps for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch to reach version 6.0 With version 6.0 we re-wrote the map code from the ground up to be faster. The app now loads quicker, and zooming in and out should be smooth, even on older devices.
The other big new feature is tips. Ever wondered what points of interest are close to a subway stop? Now you can tap on any station, then tap on Tips to see what's nearby:
Tap the thumbs up button on any tip which you find useful. And if you know a great local restaurant, attraction or a clever shortcut, you can add your own tip:
You can also view a list of the most popular tips for the whole city.
And of course we've brought Explore Beijing fully up to date for 2012 with the latest lines and stations: find journey times on the new Line 9, Line 8 extension and Line 15 extension.
Yours truly has recently heard of a few disturbing cases where some riders (especially young riders) have been harassed for taking pictures at some Beijing Subway stations.
No law in China forbids photography inside trains or at stations, but it is an offence under at least the Beijing Subway regulations “to remain for an extended period of time” (久留) inside stations, especially on the platforms or concourses.
We're pleased to announce a collaboration with David Feng of Dear Passengers. David Feng has been "underground" in the Beijing Subway since the opening of Beijing Line 5 in October 2007, and has gone "overground" onto the high speed railways and clocked in close to 50,000 km on the high speed rails! Amongst several other projects, he runs Dear Passengers, which provides news and updates on China’s High Speed Railways and metros. We’ll be cross-posting some of the best of David’s content here on the ExploreMetro blog. Together we plan to provide you with the best metro coverage in China, bar none!
Stay tuned for more coverage from ExploreMetro.com and DearPassengers.com
The Beijing Subway will be getting longer with the opening of 3 new sections at the end of December 2012. David Feng wrote a good summary of the new lines over at City Weekend.
The good news is that Line 8 is reopening with a longer northern extension towards Huilongguan, interchanging with Line 13 at Huoying. Line 15 is also extended, and there's a brand new Line 9 which connects the Fangshan Line to Beijing West Railway Station. Line 9 and the Fangshan Line are still isolated from the rest of the subway system: you'll need to take a bus from Beijing West Railway Station to Military Museum station on Line 1.
Here's a map highlighted the newly opened lines: click to expand. Look out for updated versions of our interactive subway map and Beijing Subway iPhone app when the new lines open.
The London Transport Museum is looking for used travel tickets to feature in their upcoming exhibition ‘Mind the Map: inspiring art, design and cartography’, which opens next year. This includes tickets for boat, train, bus, air travel and more.
Exploring the theme of transport maps and mapping, the exhibition will include historic and contemporary maps, whilst exploring the future of mapping, and will include newly commissioned artworks by Stephen Walter, Simon Patterson, Jeremy Wood, Claire Brewster and Helen Scalway.
Another artist featured is Susan Stockwell, whose work often uses of themes of maps and mapping, transforming recycled materials from everyday objects into beautiful artworks.
On this occasion Susan will be experimenting with used transport tickets to create a large-scale world map. The artwork will also explore the role of tickets as a memory or symbolic representation of a journey.
The Museum is currently working with Susan to collect used transport tickets from as many types of travel, of various, and from as many countries and timespans as possible. She is also collecting stories and memories related to the tickets, which are often kept as souvenirs or memento.
Please send any tickets and stories to: Michelle Brown London Transport Museum 39 Wellington Street London WC2E 7BB michelle dot brown at ltmuseum dot co dot uk
Do you enjoy using our iPhone/iPad metro maps? We'll soon be launching version 6.0 of our apps, with some great new features:
A new "tips" feature with handy hints near metro stations, like nearby bus routes and tourist attractions
Faster loading and lower memory for the map, which should help on older devices.
We're looking for around 20 people to become beta testers for new versions of our apps! What this means is, before we launch new versions to the public, you'll get a chance to try out the new version, give your feedback on new features, and let us know about any problems you had.
We'd be really grateful for the help! If you want to take part, it's simple:
Shanghai Metro Line 22 will connect Shanghai South Railway Station with Jinshan, home of the closest sandy beach to downtown Shanghai. Not that it will likely be beach-going weather when the line opens in late December, 2011.
The new line will have 9 stations, connecting with Line 1 and 3 at Shanghai Railway Station, and Line 1 and Line 5 at a new transport hub at Xinzhuang in Minghang District. The line then heads south into Songjiang and Jinshan Districts. The stations, from north to south:
The line is 56.4km long. There will be some direct trains which travel the line in 30 minutes, while trains stopping at every station will take 50 minutes. Trains will travel at up to 160km/h on the new line, over twice as fast as on regular metro lines.
The "Sinbundang Line" or "DX Line" has opened to the public in Seoul. The line provides a quick route from Gangnam station to the Bundang area, taking a more direct route than the Bundang Line. It's colored red on the map below.
Chris Backe has some handy hints about the new line. We've submitted an update to our Seoul Metro iPhone app and it should be available soon!
With version 6.0 we re-wrote the map code from the ground up to be faster. The app now loads quicker, and zooming in and out should be smooth, even on older devices.
