China's first fully-automatic subway, Yanfang Line linking Hebei's Yanjiao and Fangshan district in Beijing, will go on trial in December and is expected to be put into operation by the end of 2017.

Advantages

In the fully-automatic subway system, trains will automatically run and stop, open and shut doors, and return back to its terminal station without any drivers or steward members, said Wang Daomin, head of the Beijing MTR Construction Administration Corporation, which is in charge of the city's subway development.

Thus, trains will run accurately based on the timetable without any delays. Even when there is a problem, the system can repair itself automatically. The equipment fault period will also be prolonged to 4,500 hours, compared to 3,000 hours for the common trains.

Coverage

Subway lines marked with red lines are those that will use the fully-automatic rail transit line system in Beijing. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]

Apart from the Yanfang Line, Beijing's subway line 3, line 12, line 17 and the new airport line will also use this system. By 2020, the municipality will have up to 300 kilometers of fully-automatic rail transit lines. Nationwide, the fully-automatic system will cover 1,000 kilometers.

Technical breakthroughs

The world's first fully-automatic subway debuted in 1998 in Paris. Though Beijing built its first fully-automatic subway line 10 years ago by purchasing the system techniques from abroad, the new Yanfang line is China's very first rail transit line using self-developed techniques.

China's CRRC Corporation Limited, the world's largest supplier of rail transit equipment, completed the construction of fully-automatic subway trains in 2015.

The trains can reach a maximum speed of 80 kilometers per hour and can carry over 1,200 passengers.