Shanghai’s Subway Looks to New York, but Not for Everything<br />Only two lines — the Lexington Avenue subway and the Queens Boulevard line — are<br />able to offer trains every two minutes, and other lines can be much slower.<br />Shanghai’s subway system, like most such networks around the world, does not have separate local<br />and express tunnels, so the entire system has to stop every night for maintenance.<br />So subway cars can take turns during the night running through the local tunnels<br />and the express tunnels, with maintenance conducted on whichever tunnel is not in use.<br />While the New York system is aging, it still shows the soaring ambition of its original creators<br />in its bold design — express tunnels and stations bring together up to a dozen lines.<br />The New York system was built with express train tunnels in addition to local train tunnels.<br />Shanghai’s subway may carry nearly twice as many people as New York’s, even though it has a quarter fewer stations.<br />New York’s subway struggles with chronic delays, partly because of mechanical breakdowns<br />but also because of debris on the tracks and even people falling off platforms.
