Recently, at the construction site of Yingchun Road Station on Rail Transit Line 18, located at the intersection of Yingchun Road and Minsheng Road, the first underground diaphragm wall concrete for the entire line was successfully poured, marking the official full-scale launch of the civil engineering works for Phase I of Shanghai Rail Transit Line 18. Construction workers revealed that the line has 10 interchange stations extending deep into the "hinterland" of Yangpu and Pudong, and once completed and opened, it is expected to divert passenger flow from Lines 3, 8, and 10.
　　36 kilometers and 26 stations across the entire line
　　As one of the important lines in Shanghai Metro's new round of rail transit planning, the Phase I project of Line 18, connecting Baoshan, Yangpu, and Pudong, has a total length of about 36 kilometers and will build 26 stations, all underground. It will mainly traverse the "hinterland" of Yangpu and Pudong. Upon completion, it will be of great significance for supporting the development and construction of important areas such as the Wujiaochang sub-center and the Hangtou large-scale affordable housing community, and for enhancing the network's transfer functions.
　　Line 18 will have 10 transfer nodes across the entire line. As a north-south cross-river line over the Huangpu River, it connects the northeastern and southeastern regions of the city with the core urban area. The route alignment is: Hunan Highway—Yuqing Road—Lianxi Road—Baiyang Road—Minsheng Road—crossing the Huangpu River—Jiangpu Road—Guoquan Road—Fudan, SUFE, Tongji—Guoquan North Road—Hejiawan Road—Changjiang South Road. In the future, it is expected to improve passengers' cross-river efficiency and further divert passenger flow from Lines 3, 8, and 10.
　　From the station settings, many stations on Line 18 are located in the "hinterland" of Yangpu and Pudong, which will help alleviate traffic pressure in Shanghai's core urban areas and important transportation corridors (such as Jiangpu Road and Hunan Highway). For example, stations such as Changjiang South Road, Yingao Road, and University of Finance and Economics will share part of the passenger flow for the northern section of Line 3, while stations such as Jiangpu Road, Jiangpu Park, and Pingliang Road, where residential areas are concentrated, are expected to divert passenger flow from Lines 8 and 10.
　　Interchange with multiple rail transit lines
　　In addition, Line 18 will interchange with Line 14 at Changyi Road Station, with Line 6 at Minsheng Road Station, with Line 9 at Yanggao Middle Road Station, with Lines 2, 7, 16, and the Maglev at Longyang Road Station, with Line 13 at Lianxi Road Station, and with Line 11 at Yuqiao Station, adding convenience for residents in the Pudong area.
　　Regarding the station settings that citizens are concerned about, relevant departments have previously publicized the design plans for several stations. Among them, Hunan Highway Station is located at the intersection of Hunan Highway and Xiuyan Road, with many entrances and exits, totaling 6. Among them, entrances 2, 3, 4, and 5 are all close to Hunan Highway, while entrances 1 and 6 are near Xiuyan Road. Shenmei Road Station, located at the intersection of Hunan Highway and Shenmei Road, has all 4 entrances and exits close to Hunan Highway, with only entrance 4 relatively close to Shenmei Road Station. Beizhong Road Station is located on Lianxi Road in Pudong New Area and is an underground two-level island station with a total of 4 entrances and exits designed, two of which lead to the west side of Lianxi Road. The station is surrounded by the mature residential area of Beicai Lianxi and may become one of the high-passenger-flow stations on Line 18 in the future.
　　In addition, Minsheng Road Station is located on Minsheng Road in Pudong New Area and is an underground three-level island station. When Minsheng Road Station on Line 6 was designed and constructed, a transfer structure with Line 18 was already reserved. In the future, at the reserved area at the east end of the two side platforms of Line 6, transfer stairs will directly connect to Line 18, allowing passengers to transfer between Lines 6 and 18 in just 1-2 minutes during off-peak hours.