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Line 5, Main Artery Connecting the North and South

If you’ve been looking for a better way to get from north to south or vice-versa in Beijing, the Beijing Subway has an answer for you. Looking for a faster way to get from the Temple of Heaven to the Lama Temple to save on precious vacation time? There’s an answer for you too.

On October 7, 2007, the Beijing Subway began operating its new Line No. 5. The new line is expected to help reduce north–south traffic congestion in the city and change the way Beijingers think about getting around town.

With terminals at Tiantongyuan Beizhan in Changping District on its north and at the Songjiazhuang Station outside the Third Ring Road on its south, Line 5 will race across the city travelling 28 kilometres in about 50 minutes. Previously, the only other subway line crossing the entire city was Line No. 1 and its Batong Line extension that travels east–west from Tuqiao in Tongzhou District to Pingguoyuan in Shijingshan. 

Line 5, which began test operations without passengers in July, has 23 stations that cover major residential, tourism and commercial spots, including those inside of and parallel to the East Second Ring Road and the eastern Subway Line 2 (Loop Line). Transfers to other lines can be made at the Lishuiqiao, Yonghegong, Dongdan and Chongwenmen stations.

Trains on Line 5 can travel at 80 kilometres per hour (km/h), but will have an average speed of 36 km/h. Travel from one station to the next takes about a minute, but add one minute for loading and unloading at each station. In the beginning, minimum intervals between trains will be four minutes; but that time may be reduced to two minutes if passenger flows require it.

What’s New with Line 5?

One of the most prominent features of Line 5 is its protective glass and steel wall that shields passengers on the waiting platform from the subway’s path and guards against accidental falls onto the tracks. When a train arrives, the wall’s doors open along with the train’s doors to allow safe access.

The new subway’s trains are larger at 2.8 metres (m) wide and 3.8 m tall, providing more space for passengers than the existing 2.6 m wide, 3.5 m tall cars of other lines. They are made of stainless steel and will be less expensive to maintain than the old aluminium alloy or carbon-steel cars. The stainless steel cars are also lighter, saving a significant amount of power in operation.

With a maximum capacity of about 1,800 passengers, every subway train will have six carriages. With no doors between them, people can easily move around for more comfort.

In addition to escalators at entrances and exits, with a vertical distance of more than six metres, elevators are also installed in each station of Line 5 allowing easy access for the disabled. There are also special restroom facilities for the handicapped in each station.

Sick of the long-walks at exchange stations? No worry at Line 5ómoving walkways (one-way only) allow easy transfers at Lines 1 and 2 at the Dongdan and Chongwenmen stations.

Whether a blessing or a curse, full mobile phone coverage will soon be available all along Line 5 when the installation of the line’s communications equipment is completed.

Plans to accept use fees with a special IC (integrated circuit) subway-only card on Line 5 have been delayed because the renovation of the admission system along existing subway lines has not been finished. Currently, both paper tickets and the all-in-one card (yikatong) can be used on Line 5. In March 2008, the special IC subway card and the yikatong all-in-one card will replace paper tickets for subway use in Beijing systemwide.

Link in a Chain

With an investment of 12 billion yuan (US$1.56 billion), the construction of Line 5 took more than three years (construction began in December 2003).

Part of Beijing Subway planning through 2015, the system will have 18 lines operating on 561 km of track. By 2015, there will be more than 400 subway stations within the Second Ring Road: no station should be more than one kilometre away from any building in the central urban area. Commuting by subway will increase to about 50 percent, up from about 15 percent today.

The system will help improve Beijing’s living and commuting environment, which is under siege from overloaded roadways clogged by commercial vehicles and a growing number of private cars that are battling with pedestrians, cyclists, taxis, buses for every square inch of traffic space during most hours of the working day.

People have turned to private cars not only because of they can afford to or like to drive, but because cars are becoming necessary, to some extent, to get to certain places in the fast-growing and expanding urban area. Existing subways are sometimes hot and overcrowded; public buses are time-consuming, hemmed in by an unprecedented jam of commercial and private vehicles.

With a population of about 17 million, including residents and visitors, developing public transportation, particularly a convenient and sound subway network, is considered by city officials as the only way out.

To encourage people to take public transportation, the Beijing Municipal Government, after slashing the ticket prices for buses starting from January 1, 2007, lowered the fares for subways on October 7, 2007; taking the subway now costs only two yuan (US$0.26) per use. There are no longer any transfer fees to Line 13 (light rail in the northern part of the city) or to the Batong Line (to Tongzhou District). However, there will be an extra fee for the Airport Extension line to the Beijing Capital International Airport (planned opening in June 2008). 

But it will take more than reducing subway and bus fares to induce car owners to change their commuting habits; convenience and speed still appeals to them. A more mobile populace also means people have more things to carry and move about: social habits and needs are changing, sometimes in unpredictable ways.

Along with expanding the subway network in Central Beijing, the government hopes to change the way its residents commute. People are encouraged to drive their cars and other vehicles to terminals and to transfer to the subway when entering the central city. Therefore, parking lots have been built at the north terminal, Tiantongyuan North, and the construction of more parking lots along Line 5 is under way.

The parking lot at Tiantongyuan North provides about 270 parking spaces at a one-time low price of 2 yuan (US$0.26) per use, as long as a commuter uses the subway or a bus and pays with the yikatong all-in-one card. Otherwise, normal prices are calculated by time.

For people living in the central urban area, taking bicycles to transfer to the subway is encouraged. Every Line 5 station has a parking zone for bicycles, providing a total of 23,000 parking spots at reasonable rates.

Property Values Rise along

Subway Lines

Along with more convenience for passengers, Line 5 has also been a boon for property owners and developers along the line. Most properties near Line 5 have doubled in value with the completion of the subway. Units with an opening price of 5,000 yuan (US$650) per square metre (sq.m) at Mingtian Diyicheng property near Lishuiqiao Station outside the North Fifth Ring Road have increased to around 10,000 yuan/sq.m (US$1,300/sq.m) in less than two years. Properties between the North Fourth and Fifth Ring Roads, propelled by both the new subway and Olympic venue construction, have increased to an average price of 20,000 yuan/sq.m (US$2,600/sq.m).

The main reason is the subway reduces the travel time of residents of these areas. Living outside the North Fourth Ring Road has meant long commutes, daily traffic jams and unpredictable travel times. However, with the opening of Line 5, commuting to the central city is now much more convenient and predictable.

At the southern end of Line 5, properties near the Liujiayao and Songjiazhuang stations outside the South Third Ring Road are also emerging as choices of people working in Central Beijing. And as the property prices near the South Third Ring Road are lower than the other areas near the Third Ring Road, because of its incomplete infrastructure in the region, industry insiders believe there is even greater potential for the property market in this area.