Beijing opens 4 more subway lines to ease traffic congestion

Beijing on Sunday put into operation four new subway lines, increasing its daily passenger capacity by about 1.5 million, which officials hope would help ease traffic congestion on the roads. The new lines have brought the number of subway lines in Beijing to 16, raising the Chinese capital’s total subway transport capacity to over 9 million passengers per day, the Beijing Metro Company said. The total passenger transport capacity is expected to reach over 10 million on peak days, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. With 442 kilometres of tracks, Beijing has the country’s longest urban subway system.