Beijing Subway Finally Plans Testing Late-Night Trains
Hoorah! The Beijing Subway is finally considering late-night trains!
For a 24-hour modern metropolis with one of the world's most developed subway lines, Beijing's network shuts awfully early: many stations see their last train shortly after 11pm. Damn, most Beijing dot-com freaks don't even get off work by then!
But the turning point is nigh: Line 4, the north-south line that connects to the Beijing South Railway Station, has a particularly ugly problem: the last subway leaves the station at 11.15pm, and meanwhile at least three major train lines arrive at Beijing South from outside the city well after that hour.
Yesterday, the City Transportation Bureau told The Beijing News that Line 4 will be their first attempt at expanding the hours of the system, though specific dates were not released.
This move can only lead to more lines being considered for later closing times, and a much-needed evolution of the city's public transportation network. With all taxi app dudes being accused of being weirdos, this could not come at a better time.
Beijing has a ways to go before it wants to really claim the title of World's Best Subway, or even Greater China's.
It already challenges the world in total ridership (#1) system length (#2 behind Shanghai), and total stations (#3 behind NYC and Shanghai) but it could use some help in terms of late-night hours of operation.
New York City's is 24 hours. London's is open until 1am and is already testing 24-hour lines. Paris keeps the lines operating until after 2am on Saturdays. Portions of Chicago's "L" also run 24 hours. Tokyo's goes to 1am; Seoul's past midnight.
There are strong counter-arguments to keeping a system open 24 hours, such as: when will maintenance occur? What about personal safety in the middle of the night when there are few people around?
However, it makes a heck of a lot of sense to keep Beijing's lines running at least later than they are now. Think of the reduction in drunk driving on the boozy late nights that many Beijingers partake in over the weekend.
And it's not just boozers that would benefit: late-night dining is an inseparable part of Chinese culture and Beijing is home to thousands of food and beverage venues that regularly close well after midnight. Think of the benefits of a late-night train not just for the customers but for the staff of these restaurants. And let's not even start with the number of construction workers who are on late-night shifts.
City officials also revealed yesterday that the Beijing network will grow to 900 kilometers by 2020, which would mean Beijing's metro would be longer than the New York City and London subway systems combined. Also in the works is the option to check in for your flight from Beijing Capital International Airport at Dongzhimen to make it easier for travelers heading out to the airport.
More stories by this author here.
Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
Twitter: @flyingfigure
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Images: Baike, Wikipedia
