Trains to new Beijing airport being debugged

Automated subway trains－without drivers－for transit from downtown Beijing to the new international airport under construction south of the city are being debugged, according to the manufacturer. The trains will also be the fastest subways in the country.

A train on the subway line linking the Beijing Daxing International Airport is being debugged at a depot on Tuesday. Trains are expected to start trial runs in March and begin service to and from the new airport in late September. [Photo/China Daily]

The trains, designed to run on the subway line linking the new Beijing Daxing International Airport and Caoqiao subway station in downtown Beijing, are being built by China Railway Rolling Stock Corp, Qingdao Sifang, based in Shandong province.

They are the country's first urban rapid-transit trains to be capable of fully automated driverless operation. Using the system, the train can automatically start, run between stations, accurately stop at a station and open and close its doors, the company said.

And with a designed speed of 160 kilometers per hour, they will be the fastest subway trains in China. The current top speed of most subway trains in Beijing is around 80 km/h.

The 40-km journey from the city's south Third Ring Road to the terminals at the new airport will take only 19 minutes.

The trains will have a business class carriage, six regular carriages and one for luggage. The trains, measuring about 22.8 meters long and 3.3 meters wide, will be able to carry up to 1,500 passengers.

There are wheelchair spaces and USB charging ports next to the passenger seats on the trains, which are also equipped with variable-frequency air conditioners and LED lighting systems to save energy.

The line is interwoven with Beijing's subway network and runs through Daxing and Fengtai districts. Stops are planned at three stations: New Airport North Terminal Station, Cigezhuang Station and Caoqiao Station.

The new subway trains are expected to begin trial operations in September ahead of the opening of the new airport.

Beijing Daxing International Airport, located 46 kilometers south of downtown Beijing, is designed to take pressure off the overcrowded Beijing Capital International Airport in the northeastern suburbs. It sits at the junction of Beijing's Daxing district and Langfang, a city in neighboring Hebei province.