BEIJING -- Beijing will open three new subway lines for trial operation by Sunday to ease traffic and cope with the passenger surge during the Olympic Games.
Zhou Zhengyu (2nd R), deputy head of Beijing Municipal Committee of Communications, briefs the press on the three new subway lines at a press conference in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2008. Three new subway lines, including the Airport Line, Olympic Branch Line and Line No. 10 are to be open for trial operation by Sunday to ease traffic and cope with the passenger surge during the Olympic Games. [Xinhua]
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Beginning on Sunday vehicles with even and odd number plates will have to run on alternate days on Beijing's roads, and an additional 4 million people will resort to the public transport system.
"When some drivers are forced to stop driving on Monday morning, they might find it equally convenient to take one of the subway lines," said Zhou Zhengyu, Beijing Municipal Committee of Communications deputy head, at a press conference here on Thursday.
The new links, built at a total cost of 22.3 billion yuan (3.2 billion US dollars), will increase the number of subway lines in the Chinese capital to eight and the total length of track to 200 kilometers from the current 142 km.
The trains used for the new lines can carry 1,424 passengers each, or 344 more than those on other lines, said Zhou.
A security personnel stands outside Beitucheng Subway Station of the 4.5-km Olympic Branch Line in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2008. Three new subway lines, including the Airport Line, Olympic Branch Line and Line No. 10 are to be open for trial operation by Sunday to ease traffic and cope with the passenger surge during the Olympic Games. [Xinhua]
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The Airport Line links the downtown areas with Terminal 3, a new terminal building at the Beijing Capital International Airport in the northeastern suburbs. Trains will be running at an average interval of 15 minutes, and the 28-km trip takes about 20 minutes, he added.
A public hearing early this month by the National Development and Reform Commission decided a reasonable fare for a subway ride to the airport should be around 25 yuan.
Beijing subway operators have estimated a daily maximum of 30,000 passenger trips on the Airport Line during the August 8-24 Olympic Games, said Liu Jian, deputy head of Beijing Mass Transit Railway Operation Corp. Ltd.
