Unmet goals

A Tianjin metro official, who declined to be named, told the Global Times that the first metro line, 26 kilometers long, was supposed to carry 400,000 people a day. So far, only 70 percent of the target has been achieved.

"Some local people want to take public transport to buy things, such as vegetables, but there is no metro station near the market," the official said.

In Foshan, an official surnamed Wen from the city's metro office, told the Global Times that the trains attract about 10,000 passengers per kilometer per day during the first two weeks of operation, compared with 20,000 passengers originally targeted.

According to Guangdong-based Southern Weekly, the subway in Changsha, Hunan Province, is planned for a remote area, and those living in the downtown would not enjoy the benefit.

Wang Mengshu, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering who specializes in domestic high-speed railways, told the paper that building subways in remote areas might improve the attractiveness of apartments in those areas. As a result, some local governments could sell land to developers for much higher sums.

The Southern Weekly reported that the cost of building six metro lines in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is expected to cost 100 billion yuan ($14 billion), while the city only has 23.1 billion yuan ($3.4 billion) in revenues in 2009.

Niu Fengrui, deputy director of the Institute of Urban and Environmental Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that building a kilometer of subway line costs about 500 million yuan ($75 million).

Niu said underground traffic is not always the best option. "Actual social and public needs should be considered when planning urban development."