[photopress:beijingmetro.jpg,full,alignright]By 2020 Beijing’s metro system will stretch 561 kilometers which means it will pass London’s Underground as the longest subway system in the world. (Is it possible that London will extend its Underground. Yes, but not in that period of time.)
A recently completed construction plan Beijing’s public transportation has plans for 561 kilometers which will be laid out along 19 lines knit together beneath the capital.
If metro lines 1 and 2 (the loop lines) are circles around the city then new lins are more radial spokes extending to all the major corners of the capital. Fifteen of the new lines will support urban areas, while the remaining four will stretch out to the suburbs.
Zhao Hui, a researcher who helped draft the plan, said it represented a long-term vision and was therefore subject to change. He noted that the city’s Development and Reform Commission still has to approve the plan.
The three lines Line 4, 5 and 10 that are currently under construction are expected to be operational for the 2008 Olympic Games when they will be much in demand.
Line 4 will connect Fengtai in the extreme south with Haidian in the northwest, spanning 28.16 kilometres. This line will represent the first direct link between two poles of Beijing.
Line 5 will run from Changping to Fengtai districts.
The city is also building Line 10 which will run in an arc touching the Haidian and Chaoyang districts and joining together the northwestern and eastern-southeastern sections of the city.
Currently four metro lines serve Beijing. Lines 1 and 2 span 54 kilometers, while Line 13 and Line Batong cover 61 kilometers. Together they carry 1.5 million travelers every day.
Source: China Daily
You must log in to post a comment.