Beijing to start first subway line with self-driving trains this year

Yanfang Line will be the first subway line in Beijing to be capable of self-driving train operations.

Beijing is all set to open its first line with self-driving trains. As per Gadgets Now, the facility will begin this year only, said one local official.

The 16.6 km long Yanfang Line of the Beijing Subway, which is now being debugged, will improve the transportation system for the city's southwestern suburb of Fangshan, state-run news agency Xinhua quoted the official as saying.

Yanfang Line is a rapid transit rail line under construction and it contains 11 stations in total, according to the plan. This line will be the first one in Beijing to be capable of self-driving train operations and also the first one to be developed using subsystems developed by domestic manufacturers exclusively.

Add to the Yanfang Line, construction is expected to be completed somewhere in this year for two more new rail lines – the city's first modern tram line and first medium-low speed maglev line.

Currently, Beijing has 19 lines that covering 574 kms in lines. Twenty subway lines or sections in the city, spanning over 350 kms will be built by this year.

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