eTN Asia, 11-22-2006
China’s capital city Beijing is planning a 561 kilometer-long subway by 2020, replacing London’s Underground as the longest subway system in the world, according to a recently completed construction plan for the capital city’s public transportation offerings.
It is being shared that the city is spending some $40 billion to improve infrastructure including road and rail links for the Olympics. Beijing is also considering building six underground highways running north-south and east-west to lighten pressure on its overburdened ring roads, the Xinhua news agency added, though some experts have opposed the plan due to safety concerns.
As per the plan, the project would stretch to the subway network to 19 lines where it will reach all major corners of China’s capital city. China Daily shared that each of the system’s current four lines carries 1.5 million people every day. The publication says the expansion plan is still subject to government approval, but if adopted it calls for three lines to be completed in time for the 2008 Olympics.
