REGIONAL> Development
Beijing's railway dispatching system command center ready
By Li Aoxue (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-26 17:32

The command center that is in charge Beijing's railway dispatching system was put into use Friday, Liu Xiaoming, director of the Beijing Municipal Committee of Communications, announced at the center's launch ceremony.

The center's launch has turned Beijing's subway dispatching system into an integrated network, ending the previous system in which one line was monitored individually by one dispatching system.

"This development has improved the railway traffic's dispatching system in an integrated way, and the efficiency of the railway traffic can also be improved with the system," said Liu. "The command center can be an effective platform to manage the railway traffic in Beijing," he added.

The newly built command center will be in charge of fourteen subway lines in total. The most popular urban lines such as lines 1, 2, 5, 10 are all included.

"Passengers' travel time can be shortened with the use of the center by the data we analyze from our monitoring system. The departing frequency of one train can be added if we find people are concentrated at one stop," according to a worker from the command center.

In addition to adding frequency of trains at stops, the command center is also able to deal with emergencies at subway stations.

"When monitoring from a computer, if we find a train that cannot operate normally, we will tell people to repair it and at the same time, find another train to replace it quickly," said the man, who declined to give his name.

Zhang Shuren, spokesman of the Beijing Subway Co said the use of the center has improved subway service.

"It has provided convenience to passengers, because as some subway lines are connected, passengers' time can be saved if the dispatching work can be managed in an integrated way," said Zhang.

By 2012, the city is expected to have 420 km of subway lines in operation. The municipal government said earlier that construction of subway lines 7 and 14 is expected to start within the year, and it also plans to start construction of Line 15 within the year.