The subway system of Shanghai transported 470 million passengers in 2004, a record high for the city of about 18 million people, the Shanghai Subway Company said Sunday.

The three metro lines in Shanghai received about 1.28 million passengers each day on average last year, up 16.3 percent from theprevious year. Weekends usually saw the largest passenger flow, about 160 million a day, said the company.

Shanghai is home to nearly 14 million residents on record, while in fact about 18 million people are living and working in the economic hub, according to Shanghai municipal committee on population and family planning.

The city is expanding urban rail transportation in preparation for the crush of tourists expected at the 2010 World Expo.

There are about 82 kilometers of metro and light-rail lines in operation and another 22 kilometers are under construction in Shanghai.

Source: Xinhua