Beijing has a Metro system (subway metro – Metro Beijing) complemented by a network of suburban trains. It serves about 8 million people daily.It is operated and managed by two public companies: the Beijing Mass Transit Railway Operation Corp., Ltd and Beijing MRT Corp. Ltd.
Currently has a network of 372 kms of tracks with 218 stations, which will be 560 km in 2015 to 1.000 kilometers of tracsk before the end of the decade. It first opened in 1969 and it is one of the world’s longest metros in competition with New York subway, or with Shanghay´s.
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Beijing Metro Lines
The entire network in November 2012 consists of 15 lines (372 kms of tracks) and 218 stations. They can be classified according to whether moving within the city or if circulating in the suburbs of the city.
Lines running from the city center.
- Line 1 is the oldest one, opened in 1969, runs from Sihuidong station to Pingguoyuan station. Are 30.4 km of tracks and 23 stations.
- Line 2 is a circular line with Beijingzhan station (train central station) as start and end of the line. Are 23.6 km of tracks and 18 stations.
- Line 4 is a new line that although it was planned to become operational in 2008, only did so late 2009. Are 28.6 kms of tracks and 24 stations connecting through the subway with the new Beijing South Railway Station.
- Line 5 connects the north and south of the city, from Tiantongyuan North station (Changping) to Songjiazhuang station. Are 27.6 km of tracks and 23 stations
- Line 8 known as the Olympic branch, it is a north-south line from the Huilongguandongdajie station to Beitucheng station, passing by the Olympic Stadium. Are 5.9 km of tracks and 4 stations
- Line 10 runs east to west from Bagou station to Jinsong station. Are 24.7 km of tracks and 22 stations. It is entirely underground.
Lines operating outside the urban center:
- Line 13 runs from the Dongzhimen station to Xizhimen station. Are 40.9 km of tracks and 16 stations
- Line 15 is a branch of Line 13 that runs fromWangjing West northeasterly to Fengbo in Shunyi district.
- Batong Line is an extension of Line1 to the southeast, from the Sihui station to Tuqiaoi station. Are 19 km of tracks and 13 stations.
- Changping Line is a branch of the Line 13 from Xi’erqi and runs from the north to the Changping district
- Daxing Line is an extension of Line 4 to the Daxing district in the south.
- Fangshan Line is an extension of Line 9 from Chegongzhuang to the Fangshan district, in the southwest suburbs.
- Yizhuang Line is an extension of Line 5 from the south to the area of Yizhuang Economic and Technological Development in southeast suburbs.
- Line L1-Airport Express connecting the capital with Beijing International Airport (Terminals 2 and 3) located 27 kms north of the city with Line10 in Sanyuanqiao and Lines 2 and 13 at Dongzhimen, with 28.5 kms of tracks and 4 stations.
There are several new lines and extensions currently running.
Metro Opening Hours
Although the Beijing subway schedule depends on each line, normaly opens between 05:00 a.m and 23:00 p.m. The Airport Express starts at 06:00 a.m.
Frequency Step
From 3 to 5 minutes during peak hours and the rest of the day, between 8 to 12 minutes.The frequency depends on the line and the time of day. At peak times trains run almost straight, while at night the frequency is much lower.
Fares and Tickets
There is a flat rate of RMB 2.00 (0.20€) that allows a trip with all transfers required to reach the destination.
This fee is not applicable to the Airport Express, which costs RMB 25 (about 2.5 €).
Children below 1.2 metres in height ride for free when accompanied by a paying adult.
All lines now collect fares through automatic fare collection (AFC) machines that accept single-ride tickets and the Yikatong, an integrated circuit card that can store credit for multiple rides and is accepted on nearly all urban and suburban buses. Riders can purchase tickets and add credit to Yikatong at ticket counters and vending machines in every station.
Airport:
Beijing Airport is located about 27 killometers from city’s financial district. It is easily accessible by subway, bus and taxi.
-Train: The Airport Express train connects the terminals 2 and 3 of the airport to Dongzhimen subway station (metro lines 2 and 13). It also makes an intermediate stop in Sanyuanqiao, metro line 10. The price of the ticket is 25 RMB per trip (2.50€) and departs between 06:20 a.m and 22:50 p.m from Terminal 3, and between 06:00 a.m and 22:30 p.m from Dongzhimen. The frequency varies between 10 and 12 minutes, taking about 20 minutes.
-Bus: The Regular Express Bus arrives in town along three different routes: Xidan, Zhongguancun and Gongzhufen. The most popular route is the Xidan´s, which goes to the heart of Beijing, (very close to the Forbidden City).The Gongzhufen route reaches the western part of Beijing, and Zhongguancun´s reaches the northwestern district of the city.The bus stops at major hotels is in his route.
There are 9 bus lines leaving from the arrivals area in the airport and that have different stops within the metropolitan area (price: 16 RMB – 1.60 €).They circulate approximately from 07:00 am to 24:00 pm (departing from the airport) and from 05:00 am to 21:00 p.m (departing from the city).
Beijing Metro Map
