by lpetrich
China is having some major-league Railway Mania, and not just in high-speed trains.
Railway Gazette: Beijing metro lines open
List of metro systems - Wikipedia
Beijing Subway - Wikipedia
On December 31 of last year, the Beijing Metro got some extensions and the first part of a new line: Line 9. It went from 336 to 372 route-km of length, passing New York City at 337 route-km. NYC still has twice as many stations, however. Construction continues, with 10 more lines to be added to the current 15 lines, 4 of them to be added this year. By 2020, Beijing should have 1000 km of Metro trackage.
Beijing is still behind Shanghai at 425 km and London at 402 km, however. Other Chinese cities are no slouches. Guangzhou's Metro, at 215 km, is about as long as Paris's, and Shenzhen's Metro, at 178, is a tiny bit longer than Mexico City's. Hong Kong's, at 174 km, is a tiny bit longer than Chicago's, and Nanjing's, at 85 km, is a tiny bit longer than Oslo's. Several other Chinese cities also show up on the list.
The Beijing Metro started service in 1971 on a trial basis -- people had to get letters from their work units permitting them to ride. That ended in 1981, and the Beijing Metro got a second line in 1984. Beijing officials decided to pick up the pace of construction in 2000 when they got to host the 2008 Summer Olympics, and so it's been going at breakneck speed.
Most of the others are much newer than Beijing's. Every one listed in Wikipedia: Shanghai: 425 km, 1995, Beijing: 372 km, 1969, Guangzhou: 215 km, 1997, Shenzhen: 178 km, 2004, Hong Kong: 174 km, 1979, Nanjing: 85 km, 2005, Chongqing: 76 km, 2005, Dalian: 63 km, 2003, Tianjin: 84 km, 1984, Wuhan: 29 km, 2004, Shenyang: 28 km, 2010, Xi'an: 20 km, 2011, Chengdu: 18 km, 2010.
Railway Gazette: Beijing metro lines open
List of metro systems - Wikipedia
Beijing Subway - Wikipedia
On December 31 of last year, the Beijing Metro got some extensions and the first part of a new line: Line 9. It went from 336 to 372 route-km of length, passing New York City at 337 route-km. NYC still has twice as many stations, however. Construction continues, with 10 more lines to be added to the current 15 lines, 4 of them to be added this year. By 2020, Beijing should have 1000 km of Metro trackage.
Beijing is still behind Shanghai at 425 km and London at 402 km, however. Other Chinese cities are no slouches. Guangzhou's Metro, at 215 km, is about as long as Paris's, and Shenzhen's Metro, at 178, is a tiny bit longer than Mexico City's. Hong Kong's, at 174 km, is a tiny bit longer than Chicago's, and Nanjing's, at 85 km, is a tiny bit longer than Oslo's. Several other Chinese cities also show up on the list.
The Beijing Metro started service in 1971 on a trial basis -- people had to get letters from their work units permitting them to ride. That ended in 1981, and the Beijing Metro got a second line in 1984. Beijing officials decided to pick up the pace of construction in 2000 when they got to host the 2008 Summer Olympics, and so it's been going at breakneck speed.
Most of the others are much newer than Beijing's. Every one listed in Wikipedia: Shanghai: 425 km, 1995, Beijing: 372 km, 1969, Guangzhou: 215 km, 1997, Shenzhen: 178 km, 2004, Hong Kong: 174 km, 1979, Nanjing: 85 km, 2005, Chongqing: 76 km, 2005, Dalian: 63 km, 2003, Tianjin: 84 km, 1984, Wuhan: 29 km, 2004, Shenyang: 28 km, 2010, Xi'an: 20 km, 2011, Chengdu: 18 km, 2010.