The Beijing subway network saw record 2.89 million passengers on Nov. 16, after a new subway line was opened and subway fare was slashed.

The No.13 rail line received 382,900 passengers on Nov. 16, recording a new high.

The south-north No.5 subway line received 472,600 passengers on the same day, the second high since it was put into operation on Oct. 7.

The new 27.6-km line, after nearly five years' construction, has 23 stations and runs from Tiantongyuan North Station in northern Beijing's Changping District to Songjiazhuang Station in southern Fengtai District.

Also on Oct. 7, a new subway pricing system was adopted, cutting subway fares by about 30 percent. Now a one-way ticket costs just two yuan (27 U.S. cents), nearly the price of a small bottled water, no matter how long one travels.

A subway company official said on Sunday that since the subway fare was slashed and the new No.5 subway line opened, the number of subway passengers had kept rising. And every Friday normally saw the largest number of passengers compared with other weekdays.

The official thus called for passengers to go to work earlier and come back home later than usual, so as to avoid transport peak.

Beijing currently has five subway lines in operation, with a total length of 142 km.

Beijing's urban planning authorities have approved the building of six more subway lines. The No.6, 8 and 9 lines, the second phase of No.10 line, and the Yizhuang and Daxing lines, have a total length of 152 km, according to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning. They will be completed by 2012.

(Xinhua News Agency November 18, 2007)