On February 26, 2024, the Beijing Municipal Transportation Work and Urban Rail Transit Operation Safety Leadership Group Meeting was held. This year, Beijing aims to accelerate the construction of a comprehensive urban transport network that is well-structured, smooth-connected, efficient and orderly with rail transit as the backbone, supported by public bus service and supplemented by various means of transport. The objective is to accelerate the optimization and ensure the coordination of various modes of transportation around rail transit, guiding the formation of a "fishbone-shaped" transportation structure. Our goal is for 75 percent of residents to use green travel in the central city area and the proportion of bus stops within 50 meters of rail stations will be raised to 88 percent.
Xu Huijie, Secretary of the Party Group and Director of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport, stated Beijing is committed to advancing the construction of new rail transit lines this year. The total length of new lines opened is expected to reach 45.3 kilometers, including the first phase of Metro Line 3, Line 12, and the southern extension of Beijing Subway's Changping Line. Efforts will be made to optimize and upgrade the existing rail network, promote the suburban railway's public transport operations, and accelerate the construction of overall improvement project of the urban sub-center line (Beijing West to Liangxiang) and the Northeast Ring Road.
Beijing will advance the integration of the rail and bus networks, reduce 30 long-distance bus lines that overlap with rail routes and those within the Fifth Ring Road, optimize and merge another 30 lines, and add no fewer than 30 microcirculation bus routes connecting rail stations and communities, and open 50 routes for medical and tourism purposes in areas with high travel demand. The city will promote the extension of slow urban transportation systems from the core area outward, advance the construction of 8 slow transportation system demonstration streets and the eastward extension of the Huilongguan bicycle lane, and properly plan shared bike parking spaces around subway stations and residential areas to enhance the convenience of "cycling plus public transport" connections.
Eliminating dead-end roads, improving traffic nodes, and facilitating post-disaster reconstruction are the key focuses of Beijing's transportation this year. Beijing will enhance cross-district road connectivity, begin construction of the Beijing section of National Highway 335, accelerate key projects such as the Chengping Expressway, basically complete the main construction of the comprehensive transport-hub at the Beijing Municipal Administrative Center（BMC） station , meet the opening conditions for the underground construction of part of the east section of the Sixth Ring Road, and complete and open the new line of National Highway 109. The construction of 25 sub-arterial roads and branch roads has begun in the six urban districts and Tongzhou District, 13 will be completed and opened to traffic,and eliminate 4 dead-end roads. All traffic recovery and reconstruction projects will be completed before the flood season starts, and the "three-year improvement" projects will be fully launched, focusing on the construction of the new National Highway 108 in the Dashihe and Jumahe River basins, and the Laibao Road new expressway, changing "crossing mountains" to "going through mountains" to enhance the disaster resilience of the road network.
Beijing will continue to implement the three-year action plan for smart transport, with a focus on expanding autonomous driving applications, promoting the opening-up of test scenarios in railway hubs, airports, the three major buildings in Beijing Municipal Administrative Center and the freight industry, achieving demonstration applications within within an area of 60 square kilometers. The city will accelerate construction of smart Signal control in the principle of optimal efficiency for motor vehicles at intersections, more than 1500 outdated traffic lights will be upgraded, an additional 1000 traffic lights will be networked, and the installation of traffic flow sensing devices will be accelerated and advanced to achieve smart scheduling at key intersections in the central area and the BMC.
In 2023, the total operating mileage of Beijing's subway has grown to 836 kilometers, 'All-in-one' QR code for public transport has integrated urban and suburban rail services. 414 new customized shuttle routes for commuting, medical purposes, and tourism have been introduced, bringing the total to 651 routes. The proportion of bus stops less than 50 meters from subway entrances/exits has risen to 86 percent.Two batches of 71 bus lanes totaling 656 kilometers have been optimized and adjusted, effectively, enhancing overall road efficiency. Additionally, 26 municipal-level to relieve congestion have been completed, alleviating congestion issues at 97 locations.
Source from: China Traffic News