Meanwhile, the company continued work on the line. On December 1, 1876, the extension to Wusong was completed and opened, with six cars running six round trips daily. By February, demand was great enough to increase the number of cars to nine, necessitating the use of dual locomotives on each run. At this point, the train had 130 seats and would sometimes carry 250 on festivals. In its year of service, the Woosung Road carried 187,876 passengers, the majority of whom preferred the relatively expensive first- and second-class service. The company posted profits of £27 per mile per week, comparable with British routes. Local Shanghainese entrepreneurs even established a pony-drawn bus servicewith both its bus and uniforms modeled on the railroad'sfrom the Little East Gate of the old town.
