The Western Suburb Line of the Beijing Subway (Chinese: 北京地铁西郊线; pinyin: běijīng dìtiě xījiāo xiàn), also called the Western Suburb Branch Line (西郊支线) is a light rapid transit line planned to be built in Haidian District of Beijing. It will run west and north from Bagou on Line 10 to the Fragrant Hills - a total length of 9.4 km.[1] The total construction cost is estimated as RMB(¥) 1 billion.[citation needed] The seven stations have preliminary names Bagou, Summer Palace South Gate, Summer Palace West Gate, Yuquan Park, Wan'angongmu, Botanical Gardens, and Fragrant Hills.[1] It is scheduled to be put into operation in 2017.
A map showing Beijing subway lines currently in operation (solid lines), and the lines projected for completion before 2015 (dashed lines). The Western Suburban Line is in the north-west of the city.
History
November 24, 2008: Beijing building contract websites began to list bids for construction of a 9.3 km Western Suburban Line with total estimated cost of ¥1 billion. Construction was listed to commence on April 1, 2009 and the projected completion date was November 1, 2010.[2]
December 11, 2008: At the 15th Capital Urban Planning and Construction Design Conference, the Beijing City Planning Committee unveiled plans for the Fangshan, Changping, Western Suburban and Shunyi subway lines, and announced that it would strive to build two of the four lines by 2010.[3]
January 6, 2009: The Haidian District government announced that construction of the Western Suburb Line would begin in 2009, though the details concerning of the line route, whether the line would be below grade or above the surface, and the number of stations, were still being decided.[4]
January 15, 2009: The Beijing city planning committee unveiled the five stations along route.[5]
August 10, 2009: Planning authorities announced a change in plan for the Western Suburban Line from a train line to a tourist tram line with an operating speed of 20 km/h.[6]
January 7, 2010: Commencement of construction set for 2010.[7]
March 14, 2012: The route map and planning program is announced.[1]
Beijing Subway
Trams in Beijing
CR S-train
