Midas

Subway Expansion

The  National Development and Reform Commission  last month authorized the construction of 456 kilometers of subway in Changsha, the capital of  Hunan province, involving initial investment of 63.7 billion  yuan  ($10 billion) and has allowed similar projects in cities including Fuzhou and Urumqi.

Hangzhou, capital of the eastern Zhejiang province, in November opened its first subway line and plans to build another nine by 2020, according to a Nov. 24 Xinhua report.

Beijing put four subway routes into operation on Dec. 30, bringing the number of lines in the Chinese capital to 16. The city, with a population of more than 20 million, already caps the number of new auto registrations and limits the use of private vehicles on designated days based on their license plate numbers. The government is planning to build a road-congestion charging system, the city’s transport commission said in August.

Shanghai, Guangzhou and Guiyang are among cities that also impose restrictions on vehicle ownership. Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi province, broadened traffic controls from Jan. 1, banning vehicles deemed heavily polluting based on their emissions from inside the city’s second ring road.

  Bloomberg 

China to Boost Urban Transport as City Congestion Worsens