Beijing Subway Line 8 to extend to Daxing District

After conducting on-site investigations and listening to expert opinions, the designers put forward two schemes for comparison and selection, namely the Wangfujing scheme and the Tiananmen East scheme. Both schemes include the construction of Wangfujing North Station at the intersection of Wangfujing Street and Dong’anmen Street. From Wangfujing North Station on, one scheme opts for the line to extend southwards to Wangfujing Station, which will help facilitate transfers for Line 1, and then continue to extend diagonally to Qianmen, where a proposed extension to Qianmen Station will be constructed near the former Beijing Railway Station store. The other scheme opts for Line 8 to extend directly in a southwestern direction diagonally to East Chang'an Street, using Tiananmen East Station to facilitate transfers for Line 1, and then continue southwards to the east side of the Qianmen watch tower, where a proposed extension to Qianmen Station will be constructed.

After conducting on-site investigations and listening to expert  opinions, the designers put forward two schemes for comparison  and selection, namely the Wangfujing scheme and the Tiananmen  East scheme.

Line 8 will be connected to the bus rapid transit (BRT) system.

Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning replied that the construction companies are carrying out detailed investigations for the cultural relics around Subway Line 8. Once conditions permit, Line 8 will continue to extend southwards to Zhushikou, where transfers for Line 2 and Line 7 can be realized. Line 8 will also be connected to the BRT system running along the southern section of the Central Axis Road.

Running through Wangfujing is not an ideal design

During the “Two Sessions” in Beijing this year, Guo Binglian, a member of Beijing Municipal Commission of the CPPCC, reflected in a proposal that there are few parking spaces and limited bus lines, nor rail transportation along Wangfujing Street. Therefore, he suggested that Line 8 run through Wangfujing Pedestrian Street, with the starting point for the southern part of Line 8 extending further from NAMC until East Chang'an Street.

Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning recently replied that the construction of the second phase project for Line 8 was originally planned to stop at the NAMC, and such arrangement will basically satisfy the demand of passenger flow in the regions north of the NAMC. However, if the line were to be extended to the proposed Wangfujing North Station, the station would have to be moved northwards by about 300 meters because a turn-around line would have to be set up and conditions would have to be met for the next-phase project to proceed. There would also be problems with the location of the station, because it would not be situated in the central area of Wangfujing and would be too close to the NAMC, not an ideal location for a subway station.

Translated by LOTO