This week we’re previewing several new lines and extensions which opened at the end of December 2014. Today, Beijing Subway Line 7. Line 7 is a brand new east-west line, starting at Beijing West Railway Station and heading east through Fengtai, Xicheng, Dongcheng and Chaoyang districts.

It includes interchanges with Line 9 at Beijing West Railway Station, Line 4 at Caishikou and Line 5 at Ciqikou. Unfortunately a planned station at Shuangjing will not currently open, since the Line 10 station there was not planned as an interchange station. The full list of stations currently open is:

• Beijing West Railway Station (Line 9)
• Wanzi
• Daguanying
• Guang’anmennei
• Caishikou (Line 4)
• Hufangqiao
• Zhushikou
• Qiaowan
• Ciqikou (Line 5)
• Guangqumennei
• Guangqumenwai
• Jiulongshan
• Dajiaoting
• Baiziwan
• Huagong
• Nanlouzizhuang
• Happy Valley Scenic Area
• Shuanghe
• Jiaohuachang

The Beijing Subway has also replaced the old flat 2 RMB fare structure with a new distance-based fare structure, with prices varying between 3 RMB and 9 RMB. For example, a journey from Beijing West Railway Station to Jiaohuachang will cost 6 RMB.

Beijing Subway’s Line 8 is scheduled to receive two extensions this December! The northern extension connects Line 8 with the Changping Line, with a cross-platform interchange at Zhuxinzhuang. There are new stations at Pingxifu and Yuzhilu.

The southern extension adds three stations at Shichahai, Nanluoguxiang (now an interchange with Line 6), with the terminal station at National Art Museum.

In the future (by around 2017), Line 8 will continue futher south, through Wangfujing, Qianmen and beyond.

Meanwhile, interchanges between Line 1 and Line 9 are now possible at Military Museum station.

Beijing Subway expert David Feng reports that interchange times are around 5 minutes for Line 1 to Line 9 and 8-10 minutes from Line 9 to Line 1. The interchange passageway is well-lit with wide corridors, but includes steep stairs!

Updates to our online map, iPhone and Android apps will be available soon!

May 2013 brings two new openings for the Beijing Subway! Beijing Subway Line 10, a major loop line around the city opened at the start of 2013, but two stations were missing. Those two stations: Fengtai Railway Station and Niwa are now ready for passengers. That means you can now take a subway train all the way around the loop – a full circuit takes over 1.5 hours! Train frequency has also been increased to a headway of 2 minutes 15 seconds at peak times.

There’s also a brand new subway line, Line 14 heads west from Xiju station (interchange with line 10), running 12.6km to its terminus at Zhangguozhuang (张郭庄). Line 14 has 6 stations in the initial phase, all in Fengtai District; trains do not currently stop at Qilizhuang station (七里庄), which will be a future interchange with Line 9 and should open by the end of 2013.

One of the main reasons to take Line 14 is to visit the Beijing Garden Expo. There’s a dedicated station, Garden Expo Park, for accessing the Expo.

Here’s a map of the new stations! Stay tuned for updates to our online map and apps for iPhone and Android shortly!

This week we’re previewing the new lines expected to open in Shanghai and  Beijing in December 2012. Today, Beijing Line 6!

The only completely new line opening in Beijing this year is Line 6. It’s significant because it runs parallel to Beijing’s oldest subway line, the ageing and overcrowded Line 1. Line 6 will have key interchanges with all the lines in central Beijing, including two interchanges with Line 10, two with Line 2, one with Line 4 at Ping’anli and one with Line 5 at Dongsi, and one with Line 9 at Baishiqiao South. There’s also easy access to the famous Nanluoguxiang Hutong.

All stations are due to open in late 2012, so Line 6 should look something like this (click to enlarge!):

This week we’re previewing the new lines expected to open in Shanghai and  Beijing in December 2012. Today, Beijing Line 9!

Poor Beijing Subway Line 9 is a bit of an oddity. Although it opened last year, it only currently connects with the suburban Fangshan Line, passengers arriving at its current northern terminus at Beijing West Railway Station need to walk or take a bus to Line 1.

That’s all about to change with not one, but four new interchange stations. The existing station at Liuliqiao will link to the new Line 10 extension, while there are new interchange stations with Line 1 at Military Museum, Line 6 at Baishiqiao South and Line 4 at National Library.

Line 9 should look like this by the end of the year (click to enlarge!):

This week we’re previewing the new lines expected to open in Shanghai and  Beijing in December 2012. Today, Beijing Line 8!

Beijing Subway Line 8 initially opened with a small stretch between Beitucheng and South Gate of Forest Park in time for the 2008 Olympics, and ferried spectators to the Olympic Stadium. Last year a northern extension connected it to Line 13 at Huoying, and this year we expect a southern extension which should connect Line 8 to Line 2 at Guoloudajie, making Line 8 much more accessible from central Beijing. There are two intervening stations between Beitucheng and Guoloudajie: Anhuaqiao should open in December, while Andelibeijie will open at a later date.

Line 8 should look like this by the end of the year (click to enlarge!):