Articles

Beijing Subway

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The Beijing subway construction project began on July 1, 1965. Initially the product was a subway line 23.6 kilometers in length, with seventeen stops. On October 1, 1969, the subway was operational and began trials on January 15, 1971. The subway line was extended three times before official subway operations began on September 15, 1981. Up until the year 2006, operational routes included the 1, 2, and 13 subway lines, as well as the BaTong line, all in all 114 kilometers of operational track and 70 operational subway stations. Amongst them, the 1 line has 31.04 kilometers of track and 23 stations; the 2 line has 23.61 kilometers of track and 18 stations; the 13 lines has 40.85 kilometers of track and 16 stations; and the BaTong line has 18.9 kilometers of track and 13 stations. Passenger traffic at present has reached 1.5 million people altogether. Currently under construction are new lines 4, 5, 9, and 10, as well as the Olympic Feeder line. They will be opened one by one in around the time of the 2008 Olympics, to alleviate the Olympics-associated traffic pressure and improve the facility of travel for current residents of Beijing.

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