Currently Beijing is committed to building a smooth and convenient transportation network changing from simple traffic service to a punctual, speedy, comfortable and environmental-friendly transportation system with various transportation modes. Efforts paid to perfect the capital's network of communication lines will focus on building three major transportation systems.
In the past few years, Beijing has invested 3bn yuan annually in building expressways, arteries and road networks in the old city proper. However, concentrated road networks were mainly in the old city proper, which interfered severely with the traffic, thus to build and reconstruct roads must be done to ensure smooth flow of traffic.
Since 2000 Beijing has completed 228 km of new expressways, an equivalent of that over previous 14 years before 2000. The city's network of expressways with a total mileage of over 600 km is composed of two ring expressways----the fifth and sixth ring roads, and eight radiative roads including Jingshi, Jingkai, Jingjintang, Jingshen, Jingha, Jingcheng, Badaling as well as the Airport expressway. At present, 450 km have been open to traffic, making up 70 percent of the total mileage under plan.
Furthermore, the mileage of Beijing's rail transportation will show an annual increase of 40km next 10 years. According to latest plan on the network of rail transportation, which consists of two parts as metros in the urban area and railways in the suburban area, the total mileage of Beijing's rail transportation will be extended to top 1000km by 2020. And next 20 to 30 years will see the city inputs 10bn yuan each year in the construction of rail transportation.
(People's Daily November 26, 2002)
