The minimum train intervals on Beijing's Metro Subway Line 1 and Line 2, the capital's busiest lines, have been shortened to two minutes during rush hours.
Beijing Subway Operation Co. Ltd. spokesman said the interval is one of the shortest in the world.
The company will cut the usual 2.5-minute interval between trains during rush hour by 30 seconds for Line 2, which runs in a loop round the city center.
The train interval on the east-west Line 1, Beijing's first subway line, will be cut by 15 seconds from the previous 2.5 minutes.
New trains and tracks have been added along both lines.
Soundbite:Jia Peng, spokesperson for Beijing Subway Operation Co.ltd. "According to the situation, line one has been reduced from 2 minutes and 30 seconds to 2minutes and 15 seconds at peak time, which is expected to increase 10 percent of its capacity; line 2 has been shortened 30 seconds to 2 minutes and increasing 25 percent of its capacity. Given what we have now, both lines have great impact on subway network transportation in the city. "
At Xizhimen subway station, many passeners have obviously felt the convenience brought by the subway “speed-raising”.
Soundbite: Passenger 1 "It feels that every half or one minute there comes a train. It's very convenient.Especially at this off-work time, during this rush hour, the traffic has been relieved."
Last July, the train intervals on Line 2 were shortened to 2.5 minutes ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games.
Beijing has eight subway lines with 200 km of track. The system carried more than 1.2 billion passengers last year.
(Xinhua News Agency April 24, 2009)
