Beijing's urban traffic congestion is expected to be greatly eased thanks to the launching of the city's light rail project.

The initial tracks of Beijing's first light railway line were laid down on Monday.

Construction of the light rail begins at the Huilongguan East Station in the Huilongguan residential areas in northern Beijing's Changping District.

The light rail will stretch from the Huilongguan East Station to Xizhimen in the west and Dongzhimen in the east.

Construction of the light rail has been divided into two sections. The western section from Huilongguan to Xizhimen will be finished next May and the eastern section from Huilongguan to Dongzhimen will be completed by next September.

With 16 stations, the more-than-40-kilometre light rail will open to traffic before next October 1, according to sources from the Beijing Urban Engineering Design and Research Institute.

The decibel levels in areas around the railway will meet the national standard, engineers from the research institute promised.

To reduce the noise caused by the trains, each track must be fused with another to make the railway line free of cracks, workers from the No 1 Bureau of the China Railway Construction Co told reporters.

Since most of the basic infrastructure work was completed on the western section in July, including the viaduct construction, railway stations and roadbed construction, the railway line inches towards completion at a speed of 1.2-1.25 kilometres per day, according to workers.

The urban railway will go through the Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park in Haidian District, which is also home to dozens of universities and research institutions. Thanks to the light rail, the time required to travel from the northern neighbourhoods to central Beijing will be markedly cut, with Xizhimen and Dongzhimen, the two terminal stations of the railway, connecting with the ring subway and many public transportation lines.

With an investment of US$780 million(6.6 billion yuan RMB), the railway line is said to be the most environmentally friendly, convenient and comfortable in the capital.

According to estimates of the Beijing Urban Railway Co, the light rail will transport more than 14,000 commuters per day when it is completed next year and is expected to serve more than 28,000 persons in the future.

Design of another light rail in Beijing is completed and construction will begin soon. The second light rail system will start from Sihui East Station in the east to Tongzhou District in Beijing's eastern suburb.

( 10/06/2001)