We tend to get a little excited about transportation news here at That’s Beijing. But can you blame us? Who actually likes sitting in traffic or standing on a crowded subway for long periods of time? Anything that gets us to our destination faster is a good thing, if you ask us.
So, we think it’s pretty cool that Beijing will soon be home to China’s fastest subway. Workers broke ground on the new line on Monday, China Daily reports. Once completed, the subway will extend roughly 41 kilometers, have three stops and will connect Caoqiao Station (on Line 10) with the capital’s ultra-swanky new airport (set to open in 2019).
So how fast will this subway be?
According to the Beijing MTR Construction Administration Corporation, the new trains are capable of going 160 km/h but will travel up to 110 km/h. To put it in perspective most subways in Beijing travel at speeds of roughly 33-35 km/h.
The 41-kilometer journey from Caoqiao to the new Beijing-Daxing International Airport will be approximately 19 minutes. Impressive, right?
There are also big plans for Caoqiao station, which sees 20 million passengers per year. In the future, Caoqiao will connect with four lines and will also function as a full-on airport terminal where passengers can check in for flights.
The new airport subway will begin running in 2019, when construction on the Beijing-Daxing International Airport is completed.
[Images via China Daily]
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