The Beijing Subway is one of the largest in the world. It carries over 5 million people every day, and hundreds of trains run on 228kms of track and service 147 stations. It is a feat of engineering, planning and coordination every single day. It is a network that Beijing commuters should be proud of, it represents the forward-thinking and development of the city.
Yet even the current nine lines, and the rapid expansion that took place for the 2008 Olympics, is not enough for the city’s growing needs. Local government in Beijing recently announced to Beijing news providers that the Beijing Subway would be further expanded, with an extra ten lines and an additional 333km of track.
This is a monumental undertaking, which government has slated for completion by 2015. That’s four years from now, which may seem a long time, but consider the challenges and effort that has had to be channelled into the building of the subway so far, and this has been done over the last few decades, since 1971.
It’s taken since then to create the current 228km of track, which puts in perspective the challenge the government has set itself. Essentially, the plan is to do 60% more in four years, than what was done in almost 40 years.
Much of this is possible because of new technology in construction, which has vastly improved since the 1960s (when construction on the first subway line began), as well as new finances which are available to the city of Beijing, which has grown considerably in the last few decades, in terms of both size and economic activity.
For example, the expansion of the Beijing Subway for the 2008 Olympics cost around $8 billion, which is a significant amount, but not so much when one considers the city’s financial revenues, or local GDP, which is around $100 billion. This was not the case a few decades ago, when the city was struggling through low-growth periods when revenues were as low as $10 billion.
The expansion of the subway, in a sense then, correlates to the expansion of the city, the two can’t be separated, and it’s difficult to say whether one has caused the other. In most cases though, the growth of Beijing has had to be matched by the subway, the local government is playing a constant game of catching up with the city.
By 2015, when all fifteen lines are operational, and an additional $29 billion has been spent, it is likely that the needs of the subway will still need to be readjusted. Work is unrelenting and never stops, new stations are always under construction, and new lines are always being planned and mapped out, moved to accommodate national landmarks, and then moved again to increase efficiency.
The construction of the subway has not had a solely financial cost. Thousands of construction workers are always working in the massive expansion plans, and as it is heavy mechanical work, which is often carried out underground, the dangers are real and close at hand.
There have been far too many work-related deaths in the history of the subway’s construction. Several fires have occurred at stations under construction in recent years, killing workers and badly injuring others, and while safety conditions and procedures have improved, there’s no doubt that, like the mines, the conditions in the subway’s construction need to be improved further.
This is because while the subway represents the growth of Beijing, it is also a source of national pride. It is one of the most efficient, and one of the biggest. In times of need it can also be used for national defence purposes, for the mass movement of troops and people.
The various lines of the subway, in a sense, are the arteries of the city, along with the major highways and roads. The subway carries 4.9 million people each day, while the city has a population of around 11 million, it is therefore the most utilized transport system in the country, making the price paid in terms of human and financial resources heavy, but worth it for the future of the capital city.
via Beijing.News.net http://www.beijingnews.net/digest.php
