Beijing Subway
From Beijingology
The Beijing Subway network is presently growing rapidly; a mileage of up to 561 km by the year 2015 is planned, beating well-established systems such as the Paris Metro and the London Underground. Long-term plans envision a Beijing with 1,053 km of subway by the year 2050, an impressive figure at that. The present-day network, while far from complete, is already a massive improvement over the network in 2001.
Most of the Beijing Subway is underground; however, all of the Batong Line and much of Line 13 and the Airport Express are either surface lines or built above ground. Part of Line 5 is also above ground, as will a small part of Line 4 be. Line 1 has a nearly negligible "open air" part between Dawanglu station and Sihui station, where it enters a covered stretch above ground.
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Lines
Presently, Subway Lines 1, 2, 5, 8 (Beitucheng - South Gate of Forest Park), 10 (Bagou - Jinsong), 13, the Airport Express and the Batong Line are in service. Line 4, the next line slated to open, will be ready September 28, 2009.
The list below shows all lines -- open, under construction and under projection. Lines in operation are in plain type; those under construction or under projection are in italics.
- Subway Line 1 (Pingguoyuan - Sihui East)
- Subway Line 2 (inner orbital; loop line underneath northern half of 2nd Ring Road)
- Subway Line 3 (partially cancelled, but now in the plans again)
- Subway Line 4 (Anheqiao North - Gongyixiqiao, opening on September 28, 2009; Yongfeng - Anheqiao North opening later)
- Subway Line 5 (Tiantongyuan North - Songjiazhuang)
- Subway Line 6 (Wulu - Caofang - Dongxiaoying, Stage 1 (Cishousi - Caofang) under construction as of December 8, 2007; Hujialou - Caofang opening 2010; Cishousi - Hujialou opening 2012; Caofang - Dongxiaoying opening 2015)
- Subway Line 7 (Beijing West Railway Station - Coking Plant, construction starts in H2 2009, planned opening in 2013)
- Subway Line 8 (Zhuxinzhuang - Meishuguandongjie, Stage 1 (South Gate of Forest Park - Beitucheng) presently open; construction on Stage 2 (Zhuxinzhuang - Forest Park and Beitucheng - Meishuguandongjie) started on December 8, 2007; Zhuxinzhuang - Forest Park opens 2010; rest opens 2012)
- Subway Line 9 (National Library of China - Guogongzhuang, construction begun in late 2007, planned opening in 2010 in parts)
- Subway Line 10 (outer orbital; Bagou - Jinsong presently open; the rest will be operational by 2012)
- Subway Line 11 (originally planned, then cancelled, now once again planned)
- Subway Line 12 (planned)
- Subway Line 13 (Xizhimen - Huilongguan - Huoying - Dongzhimen)
- Subway Line 14 (Lujinglu - Laiguangying, construction starts in H2 2009, planned opening in 2014)
- Subway Line 15 (Xiyuan - Chaobaihe East, construction starts in Q2 2009, Wangjing West - Chaobaihe East opening by 2010; rest opening before 2015)
- Subway Line 16 (planned)
- Subway Line 17 (planned)
- Airport Express (Dongzhimen Subway Station - Beijing Capital International Airport)
- Subway Changping Line (Xi'erqi - Ming Tombs Scenic Area; Xi'erqi - Chengnan open by 2010; rest by 2015)
- Subway Datai Line (under projection, open by 2015)
- Subway Daxing Line (Gongyixiqiao - Tiangongyuan, under construction as of December 8, 2007; opens December 28, 2010)
- Subway Fangshan Line (Guogongzhuang - Liangxiang, construction starts in Q2 2009, planned opening 2010)
- Subway Western Suburban Line (Bagou - Fragrant Hills), construction starts in H2 [[2009], planned opening 2011]
- Subway Yizhuang Line (Songjiazhuang - Yizhuang Railway Station under construction as of December 8, 2007; opens December 28, 2010)
History
Recent Developments
- Through and including August 24, 2008: Subway services are extended into the late evening on all lines.
- August 11, 2008: Mobile phone signals are switched on throughout Subway Lines 8 and 10, ending disputes between the Subway company and Chinese mobile telcos.
- August 8 - 9, 2008: The Beijing Subway, for the first time ever, introduces 24-hour services on the day of the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics.
- August 8, 2008: The Batong Line completes the "4-to-6" car conversion, thus expanding train capacity by 50%.
- August 7, 2008: New announcements in Chinese and English are introduced in Lines Line 1 and Line 2.
- July 19, 2008: Subway Lines 8 (Phase 1), 10 (Phase 1) and the Airport Express opened to service at 14:00. (Line 8 was inaccessible to unauthorized passengers until the end of the Beijing Paralympics.)
1965-1998: Initial Growth and Stagnation
Beijing was the very first city in the entire Greater China area to have an underground network. Construction started in 1965, with the line ready for operation in 1969. Until the early 1980s, the subway was for authorized visitors only, as it was designed both for civilian and military use, and was an emergency transport system ready for wartime situations; foreigners were at first not allowed into the subway system. To visit the subway, letters of introduction were required from one's company or work unit.
The organization of the Beijing Subway changed on April 15, 1970, with the Beijing Underground Operations Department of the PLA Railway Military established. This very organization would then become the present-day Subway company.
The first stretch of the Beijing Subway ran directly from Beijing Railway Station through to Pingguoyuan Subway Station in the west (beyond even the present-day western 5th Ring Road. Two stations northwest of Pingguoyuan were built and remain inaccessible to the general public today. In the late 1970s, the Subway authorities undertook a then-significant "Project 5•2•3•5"; this required a gap of 5 minutes between trains, 2 hundred (or at that 200) trains on the rails every day, a 3-hour extension in service hours, and 5 automatization projects: dual-track electricity, automated braking, automatic escalators, centralized operations, and automated electrical obturation (or electricity management).
On September 19, 1984, Subway Line 2 opened, at first as an extension to Subway Line 1. A totally independent Line 2 opened up on December 24, 1987. Ridership soon grew in response to the expanded offers.
The 1990s saw a massive surge in ridership compounded by insufficient network expansion. On October 10, 1992, a tiny stretch of subway opened from Fuxingmen through to Xidan, with Xidan station officially inaugurated on December 12, 1992. Through to 1999, progress in the subway proceeded at a snail's pace. In fact, the Subway ran out of money at one time, delaying the Fuba Line, or the Line 1 extension eastwards to Sihui East. Meanwhile, ridership numbers exploded from 381 million passengers per year in 1990 to 558 million passengers per year by 1995. Subway stations were often jam-packed, and at times, people had to be shoved onto trains while the doors slammed closed. 1.988 million passengers crowded into the Subway system in one day alone -- on May 1, 1995. Meanwhile, accidents continued to plague the system even after the system was officially inaugurated already back in the 1980s.
During this time, Subway plans started to take shape, only to change a frequent basis. 1993 plans approved by the Chinese State Council foresaw a Beijing Subway with 12 lines over 313.3 km.
1999-2008: Pre-Olympic Growth
Expansions beginning in 1999 progressively got quicker. Line 1 was extended to Sihui East, with through services being implemented in June 2000. Line 13 opened up in two stages, the first in late September 2002. By December 2003, the Batong Line gave Tongzhou District subway services for the first time. The opening of LIne 5 on October 7, 2007 running almost due north-south, joins Lines 1, 2, and 13, and dramatically improves the utility of the whole system. The new line opened to sizeable queues and gave Beijingers a feeling of the "new subway". At the same time, the all-underground interchange at Dongzhimen station finally entered service, and all subway fares were slashed to a unified fare of CNY 2 (good across all lines except for the Airport Express).
During this time, accidents also began to drop -- from a 1995 relative high of 23 accidents per year to just one accident in 1999. However, accidents re-emerged in 2007 and 2008 on Lines 1 and 2, where the lack of platform screen doors meant that a few (but increasing number of) passengers fell into the tracks as the result of an overcrowded platform.
Signage in the Subway system were changed twice, once in 2002 and again in 2008. The 2002 changes added in more complete English-language signs, removed the old, clunky signs that, at times, saw Chinese characters put in opposite directions, and added exit letters instead of referring to exits as (for example) "North Side Hall Exits". The 2008 signage revamp put all signs on par with standards seen in Line 5, which began with the new signage standards already on Day 1. Station names were also added outside every station, and line numbers were added onto the signs. (Signs have already been updated for all of Lines 1 and 2, and are picking up on Line 13 and the Batong Line).
Due to the new Line 5 and the even lower Subway fare, Subway ridership exploded nearly immediately after October 7, 2007. As a result, the old problem of doors closing without alerts had to be solved. Beginning October 15, 2007, on Subway Lines 1 (and Batong), 2 and 13, new alarms were installed. The alarms are short bell rings that sound just before the doors are about to close on the trains. Line 5 had integrated alarms and therefore did not get new alarms installed.
On November 7, 2007, new trains were used for the first time in Subway Lines 1 and 2. By July 2008, nearly all Line 2 trains were using the new trains, nicknamed "The Plaster"; Line 1 trains started featuring more and more new trains, too, nicknamed "The Red Bullet" or (amongst locals) the "Lifeless Stick", owing to a poor design where a handle stick got in the way of Subway passengers boarding and exiting the train.
Groundbreaking work got underway on Subway Lines 6 (Stage 1; Wulu - Caofang), 8 (Stage 2: Huoying North - Forest Park and Beitucheng - Meishuguandongjie) and 10 (Stage 2: Jinsong - Wanliu via south Beijing), and the Daxing and Yizhuang Lines. This heralded the start of a massive Subway construction project in the city.
On June 9, 2008, the all-automatic AFC ticketing system was put into use across the entire Subway system. At the same time, the Beijing Subway paper tickets were retired after 38 years in service. On the same day, transfers between Lines 2 and 13 (2>13 transfers only) were moved into the new "sky walkway" at the Xizhimen Transport Hub, just northwest of the Line 2 part of Xizhimen Subway Station. (Before the Games, it was expected that 13>2 transfers, too, will use the new transfer hall, and that the at-level ramp escalators will be put into use, but this move has been clearly delayed.)
At 14:00 on July 19, 2008, Subway Lines 8 (phase 1; Beitucheng - Forest Park), 10 (phase 1; Bagou - Jinsong) and the Airport Express opened to the public, taking the strains off Zhongguancun, the eastern 3rd Ring Road and the Airport Expressway. (These lines were slated to open earlier; dates as early as June 1, 2008 were announced.) Pre-Games, Beijing's Subway network grew from 113 km in 2003 through to 199.31 km in July 2008.
2008-2015: From 198 to 561 Kilometers
Opening right after the 2008 Games is Subway Line 8 to commoners (Line 8 was opened as early as July 19, 2008, but access is restricted to authorized personnel and spectators with valid tickets and will continue to be restricted until after the Beijing Games). In just over a year's time, Line 4, running from Anheqiao North just north of the northwestern 5th Ring Road all the way down to Gongyixiqiao, will open. Subway works, suspending during the Beijing Olympics, have already recommenced in September 2008.
The three years from 2010 to 2015 will likely see new Subway line openings every year (Beijingers are in for a real rapid transit treat). The Yizhuang Line opens in 2010, linking the Beijing Economy Technology Development Area with Songjiazhuang, which will also see links with Lines 5 and 10 (beginning 2012). Southern Beijing's Daxing District gets its own Daxing Line in the same year (2010), running through Huangcun as far north as the Line 4 southern terminus at Gongyixiqiao. Opening by 2012 is Phase 2 of Line 8, which builds upon the existing Phase 1 line by extending the northern terminus north to Huoying North, while stretch the southern terminus south to Meishuguandongjie, south of Di'anmen.
Four new surface lines are also expected to be completed by around 2012; these include the Changping Line, running from Huoying and Huilonguan through to the Ming Tombs; the Fangshan Line, running from the Line 9 terminus at Guogongzhuang through to Liangxiang, Fangshan; Line 15, which links up to urban Shunyi, and the Xijiao (Western Suburbs) Line, which is a 7 km long connection from Bagou station on Line 10 up to the Fragrant Hills. (The Xijiao Line is a new (late 2008) addition to the plans.) Of these, at least two are planned to be put into service by 2010.
2012 to 2015 sees the opening of three key lines for central Beijing. Lines opening by late 2012 include Line 6 (Phase 1), which links Wulu near Linglong Park and Cishou Temple in western urban Beijing with Caofang in eastern suburban Beijing, on the border with Tongzhou District, running through Chegongzhuang, Chaoyangmen and Chaoyang North Road; Line 9, which links the National Library of China at Baishiqiao with Guogongzhuang in Fengtai District, running through Beijing West Railway Station; and Line 10 (Phase 2), completing the loop from Jinsong via southern and western Beijing right back to Bagou.
2015 sees the addition of Line 7, running from Beijing West Railway Station through to areas east of the eastern 4th Ring Road (this line runs underneath what is termed "Liangguang Avenue"); Line 14, running in the form of the letter J from Lugouqiao via Songyu South Road and Xidawang Road through to Wangjing; and the Datai Line, linking Lines 6 and 10 at Wulu with Shijingshan and Mentougou district. Finally, Line 6 will get an extension further east to Dongxiaoying in Tongzhou District.
The 2015 plans pulls Beijing's Subway network to the forefront of the World in terms of revenue mileage. Three rings, four west-east, five north-south and seven radial lines will form the Beijing Subway network in just 7 years' time.
By 2015: World's Longest Subway System?
The Beijing Subway looks set to overtake the likes of subway systems in London, Paris and Madrid, with an ambitious goal of 19 lines (over 561 km) ready by the year 2015. Plans unveiled in 2007 see the creation of a network with 3 circular, 4 horizontal, 5 vertical and 7 radial lines by 2015; these are:
- 3 circular lines: Subway Lines 2, 10 and 13 (along with part of Line 2);
- 4 horizontal lines: Subway Lines 1 (and Batong Line), 6, 7 and 14 (Lugouqiao - Jinsong);
- 5 vertical lines: Subway Lines 4, 5, 8, 9 and 14 (Jinsong - Wangjing);
- 7 radial lines: Subway Line 15, the Airport Express, and the Changping, Datai, Daxing, Fangshan, and Yizhuang Lines.
The 2015 plans do not include Line 3 (shelved) and the projected Lines 12, 16 and 17, nor does it include the Xijiao Line (which will have been opened, in fact, by no later than 2012). The Line 4 extension to Yongfeng station is also not part of the plans; nor does it include the planned Line 5 extension up to Xiaotangshan, or Line 11, which was once to be the "missing arc" to what is now Phase 1 of Line 10.
Unlike the London Underground and the Paris Metro (to mention a few systems), very few lines run parallel to each other (in the sense that one subway station services multiple lines running the same route). The only such example can be seen where Line 1 and the Batong Line run parallel from Sihui to Sihui East. Another stretch is likely to be the part between Huilongguan and Huoying, where Line 13 runs next to the Changping Line.
Three-line interchanges are likely to appear in increasing frequency as the network is built up in full. Three-line interchanges by 2015 will include Dongzhimen (Lines 2, 13 and the Airport Express), Xizhimen (Lines 2, 4 and 13), Songjiazhuang (Lines 5, 10 and Yizhuang), and Cishousi (Lines 6, 10 and Datai). Longer-term plans reveal even four-line interchanges in the works.
Ridership
The Beijing Subway reached over 1 billion passengers carried in 2008, in part due to a massively improved network, car limits, and the Beijing Olympics. Line 4's opening in September 2009 is likely to add more passengers to the system.
- All figures are passengers per year.
Coverage
The Beijing Subway covers all of the extended Chang'an Avenue (Subway Line 1 and the Subway Batong Line), half of the 2nd Ring Road as well as the Xuanwumen - Qianmen - Chongwenmen region (Subway Line 2), a straight north-south stretch from Tiantongyuan through Dongsi and Dongdan through to Liujiayao and Songjiazhuang (Subway Line 5), the Olympic Green (Subway Line 8), Zhongguancun, Beitucheng West and East Roads, Shaoyaoju, Taiyanggong and the eastern 3rd Ring Road (Subway Line 10), Dazhongsi, Wudaokou, Shangdi, Huilongguan, Beiyuan, Wangjing, Shaoyaoju and Liufang (Subway Line 13), and Beijing Capital International Airport (Airport Express).
Traffic
The subway can be home to horrendous queues during the morning and evening rush hours, and "sardine treatment" unfortunately will be all too common. To enjoy a much more relaxed ride, keep away from the morning rush hour (from about 07:00 through to 09:00) and the evening rush hour (from about 16:30 through to around 19:00).
Line 1 is most prone to overcrowding; Line 13 and the Batong Line are also crowd-prone (for these lines, only 4 carriages are used instead of the regular 6). With the opening of Line 10, this new line also looks set for serious sardinization during rush hour as its route runs through some of the stations in Beijing which are most in demand. When Line 4 opens in late September 2009, it is expected to approach or even surpass Line 1 as the busiest Subway line, as it links the Beijing South Railway Station with Xuanwumen, Xidan, Xizhimen, Zhongguancun, Peking University, Tsinghua University and the Summer Palace with points beyond.
| Degree | High Passenger Flow Stations (and Lines) | Hours of Maximum Flow | Parts Affected | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very High | Dongdan (Lines 1 and 5) | Morning to evening, especially during rush hour | Interchange | Interchange station with Lines 1 and 5 |
| Very High | Fuxingmen (Lines 1 and 2) | Morning and evening rush hours | Interchange | Interchange station with Lines 1 and 2 |
| Very High | Guomao (Lines 1 and 10) | Morning and evening rush hours | Interchange and exits A, B, C, E1, E2 | Interchange station with Lines 1 and 10; heart of CBD |
| Very High | Jianguomen (Lines 1 and 2) | Morning and evening rush hours | Interchange | Interchange station with Lines 1 and 2 |
| Very High | Xizhimen (Lines 2, 4 and 13) | Morning and evening rush hours | Interchange | Multi-line interchange; close to Transport Hub and Beijing North Railway Station |
| High | Dongzhimen (Lines 2, 13 and Airport Express) | Throughout day; more pronounced at rush hour | Interchange and some exits | Multi-line interchange; close to Transport Hub; close to major office buildings |
| High | Haidian Huangzhuang (Lines 4 and 10) | Throughout day | Exit A1 | Major stop in Zhongguancun; has potential to be busier when Line 4 opens |
| High | Huixinxijie Nankou (Lines 5 and 10) | Throughout day | Interchange only | Interchange between major north-south line and Zhongguancun-CBD line |
| High | Sihui and Sihui East (Lines 1 and Batong) | Morning and evening rush hours | Interchange only | Line 1-Batong interchange; less problematic with Batong Line using more 6-car trains than previously |
| High | Xidan (Lines 1 and 4) | Rush hours and weekends | All exits (mostly A, B and C) | Lies at heart of Xidan shopping area as well as nearby big banks; full of young shoppers on weekends; likely to get busier with opening of Line 4 |
Fares
Paper tickets were used from the very beginning (1969) through to June 8, 2008. In 1969 and 1970, these tickets were free, but were obtainable only from work units. 1971 tickets, for the first time, set the price at CNY 0.10; since then, prices have gone up steadily. The requirement for showing ID when buying tickets ceased at the end of 1972.
The CNY 0.10 price continued until late 1987, when Line 2 opened as a separate line. Prices per Subway line increased to CNY 0.20 with no option of free transfers; a CNY 0.30 ticket was separately available, which permitted unlimited transfers.
Prices increased in 1991 to CNY 0.50, and again in 1996 to CNY 2.00. 2000 prices soared to CNY 3.00. More expensive prices soon awaited passengers in 2002, with the opening of up Subway Line 13, and in 2003, the Batong Line. Then, the most expensive ticket combo came for users of Lines 1, 2, 13 and Batong, who had to fork out up to CNY 7.00 to complete the four-line trip.
Monthly passes were made available until April 1, 1994. After that date, existing monthly passes remained valid, but new purchasers were restricted to buying single journey tickets or, beginning late 2003, using the Beijing Super Pass. The monthly pass itself remained good through November 1, 2007.
On October 7, 2007, all prices were unified at CNY 2.00 for unlimited mileage across unlimited transfers. The sole exception is the Airport Express; here, an extra CNY 25 ticket is required to ride the airport link. Airport Express riders cannot ride other Subway lines without paying the standard CNY 2 network fee.
AFC (automatic fare collection) ticket systems were first in use on Subway Line 13 from December 31, 2003 until October 6, 2007. All lines started using simplified AFC systems beginning in May 2006. Complete AFC systems were put into use on June 9, 2008, after a trial run in the late evening hours on June 6, 2008.
Faregates are plenty: some stations are equipped with up to 50 or even more such ticket barriers. Automatic ticket machines, too, are plenty, especially in newer stations, but Subway riders still tend to shun them due to the new machines not being able to accept CNY 1 banknotes (which are common in Beijing) and favoring instead CNY 1 coins (less popular in Beijing).
Every station has at least one wide faregate; the great majority have two. Airport Express faregates tend to be much wider; up to around a third of all faregates used on the Airport Express are wide ones.
Inspections are only carried out at ticket barriers. The fine for riding without a ticket is ten times the standard rate (fines are CNY 20 on main lines, and CNY 250 on the Airport Express). Lost, validated Single Journey Tickets will set the rider an extra CNY 3 for an exit-only ticket; at present, lost Beijing Super Passes are not replaced. Trains and stations do not come with patrolled ticket checkers, unlike other systems in the West.
Military personnel and persons who started work before 1949 and are now retired can ride the Subway for free upon presentation of valid identification. Blind passengers can also take an extra passenger (with good vision) for free. Children under 1.2 meters in height ride for free with a paying adult, but must pass before the adult at a faregate.
Passengers using the Beijing Super Pass who are trapped at an exit faregate after validating the card properly at an entry gate should approach station personnel, who will record the proper "exit" record, and hand the passenger a standard Single Journey Ticket to exit. (Do not touch your Super Pass on the machine to exit in this case.)
Security
All passengers carrying medium and large-sized bags need to undergo security inspections for all carried baggage. Exempt are minor cases (eg standard digital camera cases) and plastic bags (which must be shown to security personnel upon request).
Announcements
Announcements in all lines (except for the Airport Express) are made in mandarin Chinese and American English. On older lines (eg Lines 1 and 2), terminus stations have a semi-Chinglish sign-off:
- "Thank you for taking Beijing Subway. You're welcome to take this line on your next trip. Have a nice day."
Announcements on the Airport Express are made in mandarin Chinese and a local intonation of English.
| Beijing Subway System (Current as of July 19, 2008) | 
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