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BEIJING

China

System

Subway construction started in China's capital in 1965. The first stretch, which opened between the city's railway station and Pingguoyuan, included today's western branch of Line 1 and the southern part of Line 2. In 1987, the circular line was finished (16 km) and both lines started operating separately. In the 1990's an eastern extension of Line 1 was built, the so-called Fu Ba Line, to Sihuidong (formerly shown as BA Wang Fan) opened for trial in Oct. 1999 for the People's Republic's 50th anniversary. The new section (13.5 km) was eventually connected to the western section of Line 1 on 24 June 2000 which had been upgraded to ATO operation.

The entire Line 1 from Pingguoyuan to Sihuidong is now 38 km long and provides transfer to Ring Line 2 twice, at Fuxingmen and at Jianguomen. Ring Line 2 is 16 km, so the total network operating in 2000 is 54 km. Most stations have central platforms and are 118m long, but only 10 have escalators. 4 or 6-car-trains are used, which are equipped with acoustic station announcement. For future extensions of the network (8 lines) some stations have already been built as transfer stations: Xizhimen, Dongsishitiao, Jianguomen, Yonghegong and Jishuitan.

Construction of "CityRail" (Line 13 in the overall "rapid transit" planning) started in December 1999. The semicircular line with 16 stations runs from Xizhimen to Dongzhimen (both are stations on the circle Line 2). The 40.8 km line is mainly above ground, either elevated (7.7 km) or at grade (30.3km). After the western section (20.6km) went into operation on 28 Sept. 2002, the eastern section will be opened in January 2003.

Subway Line 5, the first north-south metro line in Beijing, is 27.6-km, with 16.9 km and 16 stations underground and 10.7 km and 7 stations above ground. Platforms are equipped with half-high platform screen doors. Construction started in Dec. 2002, and the entire line was brought into service in October 2007.

History

1 Oct 1969 - Beijingzhan (Railway Station) - Pingguoyuan (23.6km, 17 stations, all underground)

- all stations operational in 1972 (until 1977 only for Chinese people)

20 Sept 1984 - Beijingzhan - Fuxingmen (16.1km, 12 stations, all underground)

since 28 Dec 1987:

Line 1: Fuxingmen - Pingguoyuan

12 Dec 1992: Fuxingmen - Xidan (1.5km)

24 June 2000: Xidan - Sihuidong

27 Dec 2003: (Batong Line) Sihui -Tuqiao (trial operation, 19 km in length (above ground along Beijing-Tianjin Highway, 13 stations)

Line 2: 16 km circle line (transfer to line 1 at Fuxingmen and Jianguomen)

28 Sept 2002: Line 13 (CityRail) - Xizhimen - Huoying

28 Jan 2003: Line 13 (City Rail) eastern section Huoying - Dongzhimen

07 Oct 2007: Line 5 Tiantongyuan North - Songjiazhuang (27.6 km, 23 stations)

Projects

There are ambitious plans to expand the subway network in the Chinese capital, which include both subways, light rail and suburban trains. In preparation for the Olympic Games held in Beijing in 2008, the following projects are currently under construction:

1) Subway Line 10 with Olympic branch: 30.5 km with 26 stations (Dec. 2003 - July 2008)

2) Construction of the 28-kilometer-long Airport line, from Dongzhimen to Beijing Capital International Airport, started in Aug 2006 for completion in April 2008.

3) Subway Line 4: 28.6 km with 24 stations (Dec. 2003 - delayed until 2009)

Photos

Practical Info

Beijing metro ticket Beijing (or Peking) is the capital of the People's Republic of China and the country's second largest city (after Shanghai) with more than 12 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area (16,800 sq km).