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1,000 km of rail transit lines to cover Beijing by 2020

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-05-28 16:25

CHANGCHUN - Beijing will have more than 1,000 km of rail transit lines in operation by 2020 according to a new construction plan, Beijing vice mayor Huang Wei said Thursday.

The Chinese capital plans to have 15 rail transit lines in operation with a total length of more than 561 km by 2015, Huang told a forum on urban rail transit in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province.

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Beijing had 228 km of subway and light rail transit lines in operation by 2009, and total rail length will exceed 330 km by the end of 2010 with five new lines being put into operation this year, Huang said.

China is witnessing a boom in urban rail transit construction as many cities struggle to tackle traffic congestion in wake of fast growth in private car ownership.

Shanghai, the nation's business and financial center, plans to have 970 km of rail transit lines by 2020.

Li Bingren, chief economist with the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, said: "The most effective way to ease traffic congestion is by investing more in public transport, especially urban rail transit lines, and by reducing the number of vehicles on the road."

China had 962 km of rail transit lines in operation by 2009 and the total length will exceed 2,500 km by around 2015, said Tan Qinglian, president of China Civil Engineering Society.