Coming Subway Line Connecting Beijing & Hebei Will Feature Express Trains

Beijing Subway Line 22, the city's first "interprovincial" subway line as it were – connecting Beijing to Hebei province, will have regular and express trains in service, cutting travel times between Hebei and the CBD, reports Beijing Evening News.

A full journey on the line – which will span 53.8km of underground sections and 27.4km of overground sections – will take nearly 50 minutes for express trains and over 70 minutes for ordinary trains, the report continues. Line 22 will also cut travel time from Hebei into the capital, with a trip from the Hebei-Beijing border to the CBD clocking in at around 30 minutes – whereas a car trip would take nearly an hour.

The line is also notable due to the fact that it will essentially connect Pinggu District to the city center via subway. From Dongdaqiao station in Beijing, Line 22 runs into Hebei province, where it turns north and then east again before turning north again and eventually terminating in Pinggu.

Because Line 22 will have both ordinary and express trains, some stations will have four tracks each, which will allow for express trains to continue through said stations without stopping. This can be glimpsed in the design for Mafang station, which lies near Line 22’s eastern terminus in Pinggu District, in which two tracks are on the outside of the platform, and two are on the inside (see image below).

Unfortunately, Line 22 isn’t expected to be completed and up and running until the end of 2025, so we’ll have to wait for faster travel between the CBD, Pinggu, and Hebei for a little while longer.

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Images: Unsplash, Beijing Evening News (北京晚报)