According to the Beijing Times, a reporter from the Beijing Times learned from Beijing MTR Construction Administration Corporation that, on the basis of 456 kilometers of subway in operation this year, Beijing will open another 62 kilometers next year. At the same time, Line 3, Line 12, Line 17 and the new airport line are also expected to begin construction. At present, the planning department has submitted the plans to the municipal government and is awaiting approval. The planning proposals for Line 3, Line 12, Line 17 and the new airport line have already been submitted to the municipal government and are awaiting approval. The final planning proposals will be made public once approved by the government.

The newly built subway lines are Line 3, Line 12, Line 17 and the new airport line. The specific details of the line designs are as follows:

Line 3: An east-west trunk line. Line 3 will be built in two sections, east and west, extending eastward and westward respectively from Nanluoguxiang Station and Dongsi Station on Line 6. Line 3 will not run through continuously in the middle, but passengers can transfer via Nanluoguxiang Station and Dongsi Station on Line 6.

Line 12: Starting from Sijiqingqiao in the west and ending at Dongba Guangezhuang Station in the east, the line runs via Yuanda Road, Changchunqiao and Suzhouqiao, and then along the Northeast Third Ring Road.

Line 17: A north-south trunk line located east of Line 5, starting from Future Science City and running via the Jingcheng Expressway service road, Wangjing, Xiangheyuan and Dongdaqiao directly to Yizhuang Zhanqian Street.

New airport line: With a total length of more than 50 kilometers, it currently has only five planned stations, namely Mudanyuan Station, Financial Street Station, Caoqiao Station, Nanyuan Station and New Airport Station. According to Beijing MTR Construction Administration Corporation, multiple lines including Line 7, the second phase of Line 6, the western section of Line 15 and the eastern section of Line 14 will open in 2014.

Capacity expansion mainly means that newly built subway cars will be increased on the existing basis. It is understood that with the rapid expansion of the network, Beijing's daily subway passenger flow has climbed to a world-class scale of 10 million person-times. It is estimated that by 2016, Beijing's daily subway passenger flow may jump to 15 million person-times. To cope with the rising passenger flow, newly built subway trunk lines in the central urban area have established the design principle of high-capacity train formations. Line 7, which will open next year, has been adjusted from the originally planned 6-car formation to an 8-car formation, but the train type remains the traditional Type B car. Line 16, which is under construction, and Lines 3, 12 and 17, which will newly begin construction next year, will all adopt ultra-high-capacity formations of 8 Type A train cars.

It is worth noting that the maximum speed of trains on the new airport line will exceed 120 kilometers per hour. Urban check-in functions will be available at Mudanyuan Station and Caoqiao Station, and air passengers can choose to complete check-in procedures 24 hours in advance. After the line opens, it will break the current record of 110 kilometers per hour for the airport express rail and become the fastest subway line in Beijing.

In line with the population growth of the capital, especially the continuous influx of migrant workers, the development of rail construction in Beijing is an inevitable trend. Therefore, in 2014, with new construction and capacity expansion advancing together, the start of construction on multiple Beijing subway lines brings good news to the deep foundation construction and engineering machinery industries. Once completed and opened to traffic, it will greatly ease the pressure of traffic tension and excessive congestion in the capital.

Editor in charge: Wu Yue