A?new subway extension will connect the popular commercial area of Xujiahui to Pudong and open before the end of this year, the city's Metro management said yesterday.

The opening of the second phase of Line 9 will mean Lujiazui, the city's financial district, will be only several stops from Xujiahui.

Shentong Metro Group said the 14-kilometer stretch of track will be completed on July 20 and that trains will begin testing in two months.

The extension includes stops in Xuhui, Luwan and Huangpu districts as well as Pudong New Area. It will also stop at Century Avenue Station in Pudong, the city's biggest subway transfer hub which already links Metro lines 2, 4 and 6.

The Line 9 extension will also share Xujiahui Station with Line 1 and Line 11. The first phase of Line 11 is also scheduled to open before the year end.

Metro officials said that when traffic launches, a passenger transfer corridor between the three lines at Xujiahui Station will still be under construction and ticketing systems and turnstiles will operate separately.

(Shanghai Daily July 10, 2009)