Beijing subway marks new passenger handling record

BEIJING - Beijing's subway lines saw a new record number of passengers on Friday, with 10.27 million people travelling on the city's rail transit network, Beijing traffic authorities said Saturday.

On Friday, nine of the capital's 15 subway lines broke their passenger transport records, according to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport.

Four of the city's subway lines transported over 1 million passengers on Friday, and the peak passenger volume on Line 10 reached over 1.69 million.

The main reasons for crowded subway lines is that the International Women's Day on March 8, when Chinese women usually enjoy a half day off, coincides with a Friday this year. A football game in the Worker's Stadium, which drew about 41,000 audience, might be another reason, experts said.

The Beijing MTR Corporation on Friday dispatched 35 additional temporary trains on Friday to ease pressures posed by the surging subway passenger flow.

Beijing put four new lines into operation on Dec 30, 2012, bringing the total track length to 442 kilometers and making it the country's longest subway network.

By 2015, the number of subway lines in Beijing will reach 19, with a combined length of 561 km. By 2020, the total subway length is expected to increase to 1,000 km.