Beijing's metro system will run longer than normal during the
summer Olympic Games period, and may even run around
the clock on the days of the opening and closing ceremonies of the
Games, Xie Zhengguang, general manager of the Beijing Mass Transit
Railway Operation Corp., Ltd, said.
As the Olympics approaches, traffic flow on the metro is
surging, especially at transfer stations. To better tackle the
traffic problem and ensure orderly operations, the railway company
has taken some new measures to increase capacity.
According to Xie, the interval between schedules at peak time
will be shortened from four minutes to three minutes on the new
subway line 5, and from three minutes to two and a half minutes on
subway line 2. On the Batong line, the interval will be reduced to
three minutes from the previous three and a half minutes.
The interval schedules for new lines, such as line 10 and other
branches for the Olympic Games, will remain undecided until after
the trial tests in May. The intervals may be kept at four minutes
for the branch lines.
Besides the time adjustment that should effectively disperse the
heavy traffic flow, the railway company will add more railway
liners in due time.
Xie said the auto ticket machine will be put into use this June.
Passengers will then be required to swap cards at the entrance and
exit of the subway. Paper tickets will be replaced with circulation
cards similar in size to the public transport IC card.
(CRI January 21, 2008)