Actually - I think the government got it right - this is the first time Kunming has attempted a major traffic project, since it implemented those "bus lanes" where the pedestrians get to play chicken (or frogger - for those of you old enough to remember that video game) as they attempt to cross the road en masse.

By slowly phasing things in - they can compartmentalize risks into smaller flash bangs (like cave-ins killing workers, derailments, etc).

Although the construction is messy, noisy, frustrating - this is a VERY long-term asset - so some extra caution up front is in order - so KUDOS to the government division responsible for implementation of this VERY expensive, but useful project.

What is wrong with this picture?
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so the train stops running 5 minutes before the ticket sale...

Apparently so yes!

I suspect they didn't have a native English speaker check the translation... you would think a big company like China Railways would have a foreigner on contract to do such things... instead they will just confuse tourists.

How about "Tickets sales will stop 5 minutes prior to the last train" or similar? The Chinese is correct (one would hope!).

Any news on the line running all the way to the north train station?

Yesterday I asked a workman if I can look around a station in construction- he agreed! Just to say, from what I saw, it's a long way off.If they work every day maybe 6 months to a year at the very least. Secondly, a few people have told me they are worried about safety after a driver was killed during a test. Not sure of the details really, but many are worried the project is being rushed to completion at the expense of safety....

"the project is being rushed to completion" in slow motion. Keep in mind construction started in April 2010, nearly four years ago.

The construction started by blocking lanes on Beijing Lu and filling construction yards, built in the middle of Beijing Lu, with a lot of equipment.

After four years of walking around construction, walking through mud, and really bad traffic problems, it is nice to finally see the 'almost' end of the mess.

Yeah, sadly, almost doesn't cut it when you need to look for an apartment with convenient public transportation ^^

3 years ago we moved next door to the north bus station. with more than 20 bus routes at the door transportation is easy. It's also noisy.

yeah, it just takes forever to get anywhere, even with a direct bus... subway is much faster (or at least it should be). It's still nice to have buses of course ^^