Beijing subway network stretches to 465 km

BEIJING - The subway network in the Chinese capital of Beijing reached 465 km as a new section of Line 8 opened on Saturday.

The metro network hauled an average of 8.76 million passengers per day from January to November, up 30.5 percent over the previous year, according to the municipal transport commission on Monday.

It moved a daily maximum of 11.06 million passengers, according to the commission.

The subway accounted for about 40 percent of passenger volume in the first 11 months of this year on the city's public transportation system, which includes buses, taxis and subways, according to the commission.

A total of 62 km in track will be added to Beijing's subway network next year as Line 7 and parts of Line 6, Line 14 and Line 15 will be put into operation, bringing the total track length to 527 km by the end of 2014.

Shanghai, another Chinese megacity, currently has a subway track length of 567 km.