Presently, Tianjin subway line 2, 3 and 9 andBeijing subway line 4 and 14 are under construction.Upon their completion by 2010, theywill link to Tianjin Station and South BeijingStation respectively, making possible “seamlesslink” between the two municipalities. At thattime, inter-city railway plus underground will bethe best travelling choice for people commutingbetween the two cities.

A lot of Tianjin people have special affectiontowards the old Tianjin subway. The old subwayrefers to the first-stage construction project ofTianjin subway line 1, which began constructionin 1970 and went into service in December,1984. It is the second underground (the first isBeijing Subway) built in China, with the lengthof 7.4 kilometers and eight stations of differentarchitectural styles.

Since the operation of the old underground, ithad been transporting 20,000 passengers dailyon average and improved Tianjin’s urban trafficto some extent. In November of 2002, thenew Tianjin underground line 1 project and thereconstruction of the old underground started.In the year of 2007, Tianjin underground line1 went into service, and taking the subwaygradually became the major method for urbantransportation. Subway line 1 and Tianjin-Binhai Lightrail are 71.6 kilometers in length,with a daily passenger flow of 130,000 people.

As an extension of the original underground,subway line 1 crosses through the central partof Tianjin, spanning 26.2 kilometers includingthe original 7.3-kilometer section and the newlybuilt 18.9-kilometer part.

In order to build the underground network assoon as possible to allow the track transportationnetwork work efficiently, constructionon subway line 2, 3 and 9 started in 2006. It isestimated that in 2009, construction on undergroundline 5 and 6 will start.

In 2006, while endorsing the Tianjin City GeneralPlan, the State Council defined the futureTianjin as an international port city, economiccenter of North China and an eco-city as well.Since then, Tianjin’s urban infrastructure hasdeveloped rapidly.

Tianjin proposes to push ahead the strategyof developing public transport as the priority,allowing the underground track transportationto better play its role in the city publictransportation. The future city public transportwill be supported mainly by mass transit tracksystem and regular bus, supplemented by taxiand other transport methods. The urban rapidrail transit network has been planned.

Presently, the central districts of Tianjin planto build nine underground lines and there willbe one light-rail line from the central district tothe Binhai New Area, totaling 280 kilometers.Among them, subway line 1, 2 and 3 are themain ones penetrating the city center; line 4, 5and 6 are the inner supplementing circle linesgoing through the down town area; line 7 and 8are the outer supplementing lines while line 9 isthe urban section of the Tianjin-Binhai Lightrail.

A bunch of advanced technologies are extensivelyadopted in constructing Tianjin subways,endowing it the characteristics of being energyefficient, environmentally friendly, secure andhighly automatic. For example, platform shieldedgate is adopted in all stations, ensuring thewaiting passengers’ personal safety, reducingnoise and therefore improving the environmentof the station.

By 2010, construction on line 2, 3 and 9 will becompleted. The full length of track transportationwill reach 130 kilometers and daytimepassenger flow 1.6 million. The undergroundservice will effectively relieve the ground trafficpressure, allowing passengers to reach theirdestinations rapidly and punctually. It will alsobetter support the economic development andpeople’s life.