Beijing commuters were happy to travel from north to south this morning without sitting in the stagnant street traffic. A 12 billion yuan ($1.6 billion US) subway line opened to the public this morning, after five years of construction and several delays (including several worker casualties). Unlike the other lines, where tickets are still manually checked by hand, the new line 5 will use technology that has never been introduced on other lines. There will be cellphone service in the tunnels, TVs in the stations and trains, and handicap accessible stations. The line 5 runs from Tiantongyuanbei (天通苑北) in the north, to Songjiazhuang (宋家庄) in the south with intermediate stops in the centre of Beijing. In addition to the new service, Beijing commuters will only have to pay two yuan ($0.27 US) instead of three yuan to ride the subway. The price cut is an effort to attract drivers to alternative transit means. Fifteen years ago, Beijing had very few private cars, but millions of bicycles. Now, private automobiles are regularly stuck in traffic on Beijing's wide boulevards. As the number of cars grows rapidly, the pollution level continues to rise and commute times start to double. Beijing plans to have one of the largest subway systems in the world and is stressing the importance of public transit in preparation for the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
Read more:
Beijing Line No. 5 Opens - CCTV (English)
Learn a few Chinese phrases on how to navigate the new line after the jump.
English: Where is the subway station?
Chinese characters: 地铁站在哪儿？
Pinyin pronunciation: Di tie zhan zai nar?
I would like to buy a ticket.
我要买张票。
Wo yao mai yi zhang piao.
Excuse me! / Sorry!
对不起！
Dui bu qi!
I'm lost!
我迷路！
Wo mi lu!
Do you have a map?
你有没有地图？
Ni you mei you di tu?
Do you speak English?
你说英文吗？
Ni shuo ying wen ma?
Excuse me (only use 'qing wen' before asking a question). How do I get to (Beijing railway station)?
请问。怎么走（北京车站）？
Qing wen. Zen me zou (bei jing che zhan)?
Thank you.
谢谢。
Xie xie.
Mind the gap.
请小心月台的空隙。
Qing xiao xin yue tai de kong xi.
