Construction on a light rapid transit rail line connecting Beijing's
downtown and the city's eastern economic-technological development areas will
start this year and is expected to be complete by 2010, the Beijing Morning Post
reports yesterday.
The 23.8 km Yizhuang light rail line will begin at the Songjiazhuang station
on the No. 5 subway line and end at the Yizhuang Railway Station in the eastern
Yizhuang development area, according to the management committee of Beijing
Economic-Technological Development Area.
There will be 14 stations along the light rail line, eight aboveground and
six underground.
"The light rail will run through the Yizhuang development area and four other
districts in eastern and southern Beijing, providing a rapid transit system for
the area," said Zhang Boxu, director of the committee. "It will help boost the
development of the eastern area as well as ease the traffic pressure on
Beijing's historic downtown."
The Beijing municipal government has approved a blueprint for the development
of Yizhuang New Town, which will cover 100 sq km and provide homes for 700,000
people.
The Yizhuang New Town, a booming economic and industrial zone, plays an
important role in developing of the eastern outskirts of Beijing and is expected
to become a high-tech industrial center.
