Beijing is revving up efforts to develop rail transit and build a comprehensive, green, safe and intelligent urban transportation system to become a modern international metropolis.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, Beijing has alleviated its urban traffic congestion and facilitated travel by adhering to the “people-centered” development concept, taking “slow traffic, public transport and green travel” as the key and optimizing the urban layout.
In 2021, the proportion of slow-traffic commutes in the central urban area of Beijing reached 47.8 percent, a 10-year high.
In May 2019, Beijing built the country’s first dedicated bicycle commuter road.
The bicycle-only road has effectively improved the commuting efficiency from Huilongguan, a densely populated community in the northern district of Changping, to Shangdi, a sub-district home to numerous high-tech companies in Haidian.
It also takes into account the functions of leisure, entertainment and fitness.
It has harvested a large number of commuters, with more than 5.7 million cycling travels in total and a cumulative contribution of more than 1,500 tons of carbon emission reductions.
The scale and quality of slow-traffic commutes has steadily improved. Beijing has formulated and issued more than 10 plans, standards and specifications, including the Slow-moving System Planning 2020-35 and Technical Guidelines for the Improvement of Walking and Bicycle Transportation Facilities, focusing on promoting the standardized development of the industry.
The number of the capital’s urban rail transit operating lines has increased from 16 to 27, covering subway, light rail, maglev and tram. The total mileage of the road network has increased from 442 kilometers to 783 km, covering 12 administrative regions and the Yizhuang economic technological development area in southern Beijing.
The number of stations has grown from 261 to 463 and the total scale of Beijing’s rail transit network is 1,148 km, ranking it first in the country.
In addition to daily travel services, the role of rail transit in various large-scale events is more prominent. It is the public transportation guarantee for major events such as the Belt and Road Summit Forum, China-Africa Cooperation Forum, World Horticultural Expo, and the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations.
Over the past 10 years, Beijing urban rail transit has gradually changed from pursuing construction speed and scale to focusing on quality and efficiency, from relatively independent development to integrated development. The operation of rail transit is safer and faster.
Through measures such as optimizing traffic organization, transforming equipment and facilities and applying scientific and technological means, the road network safety and service level continuously improved.
For example, projects such as the expansion of the video surveillance system of the entire road network and the upgrading and transformation of the signal system have been completed. Facilities such as train timetables, air-conditioning temperature zones, mother and baby rooms and automatic external defibrillator equipment were introduced to improve the riding environment.
Beijing is also integrating rail transit into urban life.
The city’s entire rail transit network has achieved full coverage of mobile payment methods such as Alipay, WeChat QR code, and UnionPay Cloud QuickPass, saving passengers the time of queuing up to buy tickets. Breaking industry and geographical barriers, it has realized the interconnection between Beijing and other cities such as Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Chongqing and Hohhot.
The capital continuously promotes the interconnection of transportation facilities. In eight years, a 1-hour traffic circle in the core area of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and a 1.5-hour traffic circle between adjacent cities have basically been formed.
The construction and interconnection of a grid-like, full-coverage Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei transportation infrastructure network with rail as the backbone has been accelerated.
Key traffic projects are in full swing such as the Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed railway and the Beijing-Xiong’an intercity transport. The total railway operation mileage in the city area is 1,340 kilometers, and the “one network” of transportation across the three regions of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei is shortening the time for commuters.
By China Daily
