Subway Line 13
From Beijingology
| Subway Line 13 Ditie Shisan Hao Xian 地铁十三号线 地鐵十三號線 aka "Qing Gui" (轻轨) or "Cheng Tie" (城铁) | |
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| Number of Stations | 16 |
| Color | Yellow |
| Length | 40.85 km |
| Interchange Stations (total: 5; 3 currently in use) | Xizhimen (Lines 2 and 4) Zhichunlu (Line 10) Lishuiqiao (Line 5) Shaoyaoju (Line 10) Dongzhimen (Line 2 and Airport Express) |
| Termini | Xizhimen (western terminus) Dongzhimen (eastern terminus) |
| Depots | Huilongguan Depot |
| First Service | () |
| Last Service | () |
| Coverage | Inner NW Beijing, far northern Beijing, inner NE Beijing |
| Rolling Stock | Nickname: "The Cat" Prefixed H (Huilongguan Depot) |
| Journeys | |
| Year Opened / Last Extension | September 28, 2002 (Xizhimen - Huoying) January 28, 2003 (Huoying - Dongzhimen) |
| Notes | Also known as CityRail (城铁) or Light Rail (轻轨) |
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Line 13 of the Beijing Subway runs from Dongzhimen via Lishuiqiao and Huoying through to Xizhimen, passing through much of northern Beijing on its route. Line 13 forms part of the Three Rings in Beijing's 2015 Subway network (the southern part is "shared" with Line 2 from Xizhimen via Andingmen through to Dongzhimen). It is colored standard yellow, although it used to use orange for the line color.
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History
When Line 13 first opened in September 28, 2002, it was referred to as the Light Rail (轻轨), or more correctly, CityRail (城铁). Virtually no reference to a "Subway Line 13" was made in the media; they preferred, instead, to use CityRail West (城铁西线) for the part of Line 13 from Xizhimen through to Huoying and CityRail East (城铁东线) for the part of Line 13 further east (reaching Dongzhimen).
Line 13 was supposed to be a "different animal" at the outset, with the name "Line 13" itself often denied or not used for the entire line. The CityRail line (as it was then called) also had two branch lines planned; one at Zhichunlu with a western branch bound for Xianghongqi (with 4 stops in between), not far from the Fragrant Hills, and an eastern branch bound for Beijing Capital International Airport, with 9 stops inbetween. Both branch lines remain unbuilt to this day; however, the eastern branch has since been realized in a different manner, with the opening of the Airport Express from Dongzhimen and Sanyuanqiao to the airport on July 19, 2008.
Construction on Line 13 began on December 11, 1999, starting out from Shangdi station.
The western part of Line 13 opened September 28, 2002 to mass queues, as then only 3-car trains were used with very wide gaps between the trains -- around 10 minutes on average. The eastern part of Line 13 opened January 28, 2003. Nearly 12 months later, AFC services were inaugurated across all of Line 13, which soon became the first Subway line to charge according ot the actual distance travelled.
The first years of Line 13 were beset with antiquated rolling stock, too-short trains (3 cars per train), excessively long gaps between one train and another (10 - 17 minutes), short service hours (06:00 - 21:00), and, for the first six months, an incomplete network. The arrival of newer rolling stock made the ride easier in both summer and winter with aircon now reality. Meanwhile, gaps were massively shortened immediately after Line 5 opened in October 2007; the gap is now as short as 3 minutes between trains.
AFC ticket barriers were installed in all stations by March 18, 2003. They were temporarily taken out of service from October 7, 2007 through to June 8, 2008, but re-entered service on June 9, 2008.
Route
Line 13 runs a rather slanted, distorted route through much of northern suburban Beijing, with the bulk of stations in the western and eastern stretches, as well as in the stretch near Huilongguan. Earlier Subway maps showed the line as a distorted route that was "high" in the west and "low" in the east, with gaping voids between Lishuiqiao, Beiyuan and Wangjing West stations. Early (pre-2002) plans showed Line 13 as being nearly totally different from other Subway lines; two branch lines to Xianghongqi (near the Fragrant Hills) and to the airport were also shown, which have since been abandoned (although the airport is served today by the Airport Express).
The line runs next to a national railway line for much of the stretch in the west, joining with another existing line near Huilongguan. In the eastern part, it actually takes the place of an existing railway line which used to leave from Hepingli Railway Station.
The only subterranean parts of Line 13 are those near Xi'erqi, as well as another part from Liufang to Dongzhimen, where the train goes underground to join other lines at the Dongzhimen terminus. Of the entire 40.85 km line, 30.35 km run either at ground level or are next to existing railway lines. 7.7 km of Line 13 is built on viaducts, while underground portions account for a mere 2.8 km.
Stations
All Line 13 stations are either on ground level or are above ground, with the sole exception of Dongzhimen.
| Name | Location | Exits | Station Halls | Platforms | Platform Level Livery | Times Served | Disabled Access | Interchanges |
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| Xizhimen (西直门) | Xizhimen, Xicheng | 2 (A, B) | Mixed hall | Mixed platforms | 00:00 - 00:00 | Lines 2 and 4 (2009) | ||
| Dazhongsi (大钟寺) | Lianxiang East Bridge, Haidian | 2 (A, B) | Mixed halls | Side platforms | 00:00 - 00:00 | |||
| Zhichunlu (知春路) | Zhichun Road, Haidian | 2 (A, B) | Side halls | Side platforms | 00:00 - 00:00 | Line 10 | ||
| Wudaokou (五道口) | Wudaokou, Haidian | 2 (A, B) | Side halls | Side platforms | ||||
| Shangdi (上地) | Shangdi, Haidian | 1 (A) | Through hall | Side platforms | ||||
| Xi'erqi (西二旗) | Xi'erqi, Haidian | 1 (A) | Through hall | Side platforms | ||||
| Longze (龙泽) | Tongcheng Street, Changping | 1 (A) | Through hall | Side platforms | ||||
| Huilongguan (回龙观) | Tongcheng Street, Changping | 1 (A) | Through hall | 2 central island platforms | ||||
| Huoying (霍营) | -, Changping | 1 (A) | Through hall | 2 central island platforms | ||||
| Lishuiqiao (立水桥) | Lishuiqiao, Changping | 1 (A) | Semi-enclosed hall | Side platforms |
- Xizhimen (above ground, westernmost terminus, interchange with Subway Lines 2 and 4)
- Xueyuannanlu (projected)
- Dazhongsi (above ground)
- Zhichunlu (above ground, interchange with Subway Line 10)
- Beisihuan West (projected)
- Wudaokou (above ground)
- Qinghuadonglu (projected; likely to be renamed Shuangqinglu and become an interchange with Subway Line 15)
- Shangdi (above ground)
- Xi'erqi (above ground)
- Longze (above ground)
- Huilongguan (above ground)
- Huoying (above ground, interchange with Subway Line 8)
- Jiancaichengdonglu (projected)
- Lishuiqiao (above ground, interchange with Subway Line 5)
- Beiyuan (above ground)
- Laiguangying (projected)
- Wangjing West (above ground; interchange with Subway Line 15)
- Beisihuan East (projected)
- Shaoyaoju (above ground, interchange with Subway Line 10)
- Guangximen (above ground)
- Liufang (above ground)
- Dongzhimen (underground, easternmost terminus, interchange with Subway Line 2 and Airport Express)
Line 13 has pre-reserved (but not yet built) stations at six points (see the stations in the above table labelled "projected"). One of the first pre-reserved stations to be put into use could potentially be the station at Qinghuadonglu, which would be renamed Shuangqinglu station and see a transfer with Subway Line 15.
Many station names have been changed from their original names (current names are given in bold):
- Huilongguan West (回龙观西) -- Longze
- Huangtudian (黄土店) -- Huilongguan
- Huilongguan East (回龙观东) -- Huoying; note: this is a different station from the planned Huoying North station, which is also known on some sites as Huilongguan East
- Taiyanggong (太阳宫) -- Shaoyaoju; note: this is a different station than the present-day Line 10 Taiyanggong station
- Hepingli (和平里) -- Guangximen
- Meichang (煤厂) -- Liufang
Fares
When Line 13 first opened, fares were unified at CNY 3 without free transfers to Line 2. At the same time, the Beijing Price Bureau approved AFC prices, which were to be based on distance. Riders would encounter a price increase of CNY 1 with every third station with a minimum of CNY 2, and a maximum cap at CNY 5 (ie CNY 2 for trips within 3 stations, CNY 3 within 6 stations, etc). Also planned were fixed-value stored-value cards at CNY 50 and CNY 100, which would further benefit the user by offering a 5% or 10% discount (respectively).
The AFC system was slated to be in operation in the second half of 2003, but the SARS crisis and another delay pushed the start to very much the last day in 2003 -- December 31, 2003. The new AFC system supported the Beijing Super Pass immediately following activation, thus making Line 13 the first-ever Super Pass-friendly Subway line.
The existing AFC system was in operation for nearly four years until Line 5 opened, which temporarily rendered the AFC system out of use. Their use, however, were reinstated on June 9, 2008, following the full activation of Beijing's Subway AFC system.
Service Frequency
Service frequency on Subway Line 13 sometimes varies wildly from 3 minutes and 30 seconds all the way up to 11 minutes. Here's a look at service frequencies for the subway line over the course of a day:
- 6-7 minutes from the first train until 6:20
- 3 minutes 30 seconds from 6:20 until 9:40
- 6-9 minutes from 9:40-11:30
- 10-11 minutes from 11:30-15:10
- 6-9 minutes from 15:10-16:40
- 3 minutes 30 seconds from 16:40-20:40
- 6-8 minutes from 20:40-21:50
- 9-10 minutes from 21:50-22:50
- 10 minutes 30 seconds-11 minutes from 22:50 until the last train
| Beijing Subway Line 13 (Xizhimen - Huilonguan - Huoying - Dongzhimen) 16 stations • 40.85 km • Minimum 3 minutes | 
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| Beijing Subway System (Current as of July 19, 2008) | 
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