Subway Update: Line 14 Expands to Beijing South Railway, Off-Peak Fares on Tap
[Update Dec 24: New subway map is out showing new Line 14 sections and Changping extension. Full version here] Rejoice! The ever-expanding, colossal Beijing subway system continues to spread its metallic tentacles towards ultimate world dominance, promising to open a new station every day for the remainder of mankind’s meager existence.
Well, not quite but nearly.
The next step in the master plan is the expansion of Line 14, which will now run all the way from the northernmost Shangezhuang down the east side of the city before cutting west to the Beijing South Railway Station.
The extension is currently in the process of being tested and should open on December 28 (Merry Christmas). This gives anyone lucky enough to live along Line 14 a direct ride to the hub that services high speed trains to Shanghai.
It is expected that Line 14 will also connect up with Line 15 at Wangjing station, Line 6 at Jintailu, Line 1 at Dawanglu, Line 7 at Jiulongshan, Line 10 at Fangzhuang, Line 5 at Puhuangyu, Line 8 at Yongdingmenwai, before reaching Beijing South Railway Station, but specific dates as to when these separate transfer stations will open have yet to be confirmed.
Unfortunately, there's still no update on whether the coveted Chaoyang Park Station will open. Current Line 14 track passes this station but does not stop.
Other New 2015 Subway Action
Ground will be broken on a total of nine new subway lines spanning a total of over 193km by the end of 2015, three more than the Ministry of Transport planned at the beginning of the year – someone's been busy! The new lines include an expansion of the Airport Express west to Beixinqiao, Line 12 in its entirety (running west from Sijiqing to Guanzhuanglu Xikou in the east) and Line 17 in its entirety (running north from Beijing Future Science North Park to Yizhuang South Station in, you guessed it, the south). Where the hell are these places?! Think of the staycation potential now that we have access to the Beijing Future Science North Park … in Hebei, a mere hour's ride away.
Expansions of the subway to Beijing’s Daxing International Airport, set to open in late 2018, have also begun and people with an urgent need to escape the city to then only feel a sense of crushing disappointment while staring at a giant mound of earth will soon have the opportunity to visit the north terminal.
The construction of the subway’s peripheral arteries will hopefully alleviate some road traffic, especially now that the warren stretching between Beijing, Hebei, Tianjian will allow people to basically live underground and never see the sun (what there remains of it) again. How much it’ll boost economic development has yet to be seen, but I suggest they build some malls, provide access to clean water, and sanitation, down there for the mole people, too.
Off-Peak Pricing Proposed
Additionally, the subway overlords are currently trying out an on- off-peak tariff plan with staggered fares throughout the day. Busy areas and five stations on the Changping Line are currently being tested with the hopes that the charges be rolled out system-wide in the near future.
It's only a matter of time until the government has mapped all of our neural circuits and discovers that no one actually likes riding the subway and that they might have gotten a little carried away.
More stories by this author here.
Email: tomarnstein@thebeijinger.com
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