Line 1 of the
Beijing Subway
The Beijing Subway is the rapid transit system of Beijing Direct-controlled municipality, Municipality that consists of 29 lines including 24 rapid transit lines, two airport rail links, one maglev line and two light rail, light rail tram line ...
() is the oldest and one of the busiest lines of Beijing's
mass transit
Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whi ...
rail network. The line runs underneath
Chang'an Avenue
file:50th anniversary of PRC 1.jpg, 250px, Chang'an Avenue hosts military parades. Here are armoured fighting vehicles leaving Tian'anmen Square during the 50th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, 1999 National Day parade.
Chang'an ...
, the city's grand east–west thoroughfare, right through the heart of Beijing with stops on either side of
Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square () is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen ("''Gate of Heavenly Peace''") located to its north, which separates it from the Forbidden City. The square contains th ...
. Line 1's color is dark red.
Through operation with the
Batong line
The Batong Line of the Beijing Subway () is an east–west rapid transit line in eastern Beijing. It extends Line 1 further east from in Chaoyang District to in Tongzhou District. Through operation with Line 1 started on August 29, 2021.
...
started on August 29, 2021.
Ridership
As the oldest line of the Beijing Subway, Line 1 was also the most heavily used from the time the subway opened in 1971 until January 2013, when the near-completion of the
Line 10 loop caused ridership on that line to surge past Line 1. Daily ridership averaged 1,234,900 in 2014. Peak ridership in 2014 was 1,536,900.
Recent traffic relief efforts have been completed in recent years. The opening of the first phase of the parallel
Line 6, caused an 8.46% decrease in daily demand and a 10-20% reduction in peak flow during rush hour.
In addition Beijing BRT line 2 parallels the eastern section of Line 1. In the meantime between 2014 and 2015, Line 1 again upgraded its signals to a
communications-based train control
Communications-based train control (CBTC) is a railway signaling system that uses telecommunications between the train and track equipment for traffic management and infrastructure control. CBTC allows a train's position to be known more accura ...
system allowing trains to run at headways as low as 1 minutes 45 seconds. However, during peak hours, sections of the line were reported in 2013 to still operate above 100% capacity.
Hours of operation
The first east-bound trains departs from
Gucheng at 4:58am and
Pingguoyuan at 5:10am. The first west-bound train departs
Sihui
Sihui (), formerly romanized as Szewui, is a county-level city in the west of the Pearl River Delta region in Guangdong province, China. It is administered as part of the prefecture-level city
A prefecture-level city () or prefectural ...
at 4:56am and
Sihui East at 5:05am. The last east-bound train leaves Pingguoyuan at 10:55pm. The last west-bound train leaves Sihui East at 11:15pm.
Route
Line 1's western terminus is , located in
Shijingshan District
Shijingshan District () is an urban district of the city of Beijing. It lies to the west of the urban core of Beijing, and is part of the Western Hills area, bordering the districts of Haidian to the northeast and east, Fengtai to the south, an ...
. The line heads southeast to its second stop at Gucheng and from there runs straight east, following
Chang'an Avenue
file:50th anniversary of PRC 1.jpg, 250px, Chang'an Avenue hosts military parades. Here are armoured fighting vehicles leaving Tian'anmen Square during the 50th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, 1999 National Day parade.
Chang'an ...
all the way to its eastern terminus, in
Chaoyang District, just beyond the
4th Ring Road
The 4th Ring Road () is a controlled-access expressway ring road in Beijing, China which runs around the city, with a radius of approximately from city centre. The total length of the road is . There are 147 bridges and viaducts that run the le ...
. The line passes through
Xidan
Xidan (Chinese character, Chinese: wikt:西, 西wikt:单, 单; Pinyin: Xīdān) is a major traditional commercial area in Beijing, China. It is located in the Xicheng District.
The Xidan commercial district incorporates the Xidan Culture Square ...
,
Wangfujing
Wangfujing Street ( zh, s=王府井大街, p=Wángfǔjǐng Dàjiē) is a shopping street in Beijing, China, located in Dongcheng District. The majority of the main area is pedestrianised. Since the middle of the Ming Dynasty there have been ...
and
Dongdan, among other important commercial centers of
Xicheng
Xicheng () is a district of the city of Beijing. Its cover the western half of the old city (largely inside the 2nd Ring Road; the eastern half is Dongcheng District), and has 1,106,214 inhabitants (2020 Census). Its postal code is 100032. Xi ...
and
Dongcheng Districts, as well as the
Beijing CBD near the
China World Trade Center
The China World Trade Center () is located in Chaoyang District, Beijing, Chaoyang District, the Beijing central business district, central business district of Beijing.
The construction of the complex started in 1985 and was completed in 2010 ...
. The line is
in length with 23 stations in operation. All stations except for and are underground.
Stations
Station list for Line 1 and Batong line of Beijing Subway, after the through operation started on August 29, 2021.
History

The first section of subway in Beijing officially started trial operation on January 15, 1971. It was long and ran between
Beijing railway station
Beijing railway station, or simply Beijing station, is a passenger railway station in Dongcheng District, Beijing. The station is located just southeast of the city centre inside the Second Ring Road with Beijing Station Street to the north an ...
to , which today is a section of Line 1 and 2.
A few months later, on August 15, 1971, the line was extended 3 stations west, to . The line was extended again to in November. On April 23, 1973, the line was extended , at this point the line is long with 17 stations.
On September 15, 1981, the line was again extended westward to creating a long line with 19 stations. The line was transferred to the newly created Beijing Mass Transit Operation Corporation and was officially opened to the public, ending the decade long trial operation period. By 1981, the annual passenger volume of Beijing Subway was 64.66 million passengers, with a daily average of 177,000 passenger trips.
On August 15, 1986, the second phase of subway construction started and a feasibility study on the construction of the new line between of Fuxingmen to Bawangfen (Today's
Beijing CBD) was carried out. A new branch heading east to a new station, , was completed between and stations on December 28, 1987. The section between and was transferred to the newly created
Line 2 and Line 1 ran between Pingguoyuan and Fuxingmen stations. In January 1991, the feasibility study report on the construction of a new line between Fuxingmen to Bawangfen was approved with construction of the new "Fuba line", starting in June 1992. On December 12, 1992, Line 1 was extended east for one station to . In 1994, Line 1's signals were upgraded to
automatic train protection
Automatic train protection (ATP) is the generic term for train protection systems that continually check that the speed of a train is compatible with the permitted speed allowed by signalling, including automatic stop at certain signal aspects ...
system.
On September 28, 1999, the first section of the Fuba line between to was opened. On June 28, 2000, the section between and stations opened, merging Line 1 and the Fuba Line to create a line with 23 stations.
Headway Reduction
Since 2014, the signaling and power systems has been gradually upgraded to allow for trains to run more frequently. The upgraded CBTC moving block signaling system in place today reduces rush hour headways from every 2 minutes and 5 seconds to 1 minute 45 seconds.
Platform screen doors

Due to platform congestion and suicides, a proposal was made in 2010 to refit all stations on Line 1 with
platform screen doors
Platform screen doors (PSDs), also known as platform edge doors (PEDs), are used at some train, rapid transit and people mover stations to separate the platform from train tracks, as well as on some bus rapid transit, tram and light rail ...
. However, the ventilation system in the older stations of Line 1 was incompatible with full-height
platform screen doors
Platform screen doors (PSDs), also known as platform edge doors (PEDs), are used at some train, rapid transit and people mover stations to separate the platform from train tracks, as well as on some bus rapid transit, tram and light rail ...
, so half height platform screen doors were chosen instead. In July 2016, the operator began installing platform screen doors on Line 1. In 2016, the
platform screen doors
Platform screen doors (PSDs), also known as platform edge doors (PEDs), are used at some train, rapid transit and people mover stations to separate the platform from train tracks, as well as on some bus rapid transit, tram and light rail ...
was installed at
Yong'anli station. By the end of 2017, all stations except were retrofitted with half-height platform screen doors, and all the screen doors were put into operation for the first time.
Through operations with the Batong line
In 2010, a CPPCC member Chen Dingwang, proposed that services on Line 1 and the
Batong line
The Batong Line of the Beijing Subway () is an east–west rapid transit line in eastern Beijing. It extends Line 1 further east from in Chaoyang District to in Tongzhou District. Through operation with Line 1 started on August 29, 2021.
...
should directly link, with
through operations, reducing travel times and removing the unnecessary forced transfers at or . However, the
Beijing Subway
The Beijing Subway is the rapid transit system of Beijing Direct-controlled municipality, Municipality that consists of 29 lines including 24 rapid transit lines, two airport rail links, one maglev line and two light rail, light rail tram line ...
responded that Line 1's and Batong's
signal
A signal is both the process and the result of transmission of data over some media accomplished by embedding some variation. Signals are important in multiple subject fields including signal processing, information theory and biology.
In ...
systems are completely different, so through-operation will be more difficult to achieve, from an engineering standpoint. As of 2016, preliminary design and feasibility studies are underway to allow for through operations between Line 1 and Batong. On June 12, 2020, the project of the through operation of Line 1 and Batong line was approved by Beijing Development and Reform Commission.
Through operation with the
Batong line
The Batong Line of the Beijing Subway () is an east–west rapid transit line in eastern Beijing. It extends Line 1 further east from in Chaoyang District to in Tongzhou District. Through operation with Line 1 started on August 29, 2021.
...
started on 29 August 2021.
Other facilities
Rolling stock for Line 1 is parked and maintained at Gucheng Depot and Sihui Depot.
Restricted stations
Beyond , Line 1 extends further northwest where it has
several other stations: Gaojing () and
Fushouling (). Gaojing station is in the military region.
Fushouling station is actually outside the military region. These stations are not open for public use.
Fushouling station's opening date is yet to be determined.
A proposal to open the Gaojing station to public is mentioned within 2022 and 2023 working plan of the
Shijingshan District
Shijingshan District () is an urban district of the city of Beijing. It lies to the west of the urban core of Beijing, and is part of the Western Hills area, bordering the districts of Haidian to the northeast and east, Fengtai to the south, an ...
.
Future Development
Increasing capacity
Due to Line 1's severe overcapacity problem, there are plans to introduce 7-car or longer trains. In order for this plan to proceed the oldest section of Line 1 between and , which only has platforms long enough to accommodate 6-car trains, will need to be lengthened. The newer section between and , formerly known as "Fuba line" during construction, has platforms long enough for 8-car trains. According to an interview to the director of Beijing Municipal Transport Commission in December 2022, they will introduce 7-car trains in the eastern section of Line 1 and the Batong line in future.
Branch to Qinglonghudong
On 8 July 2022, an EIA document regarding Phase III construction of Beijing rail transport system (2022–2027) mentions a proposal about the branch line of Line 1. The branch line is a southwest-to-northeast line starts from Qinglonghudong (located at the east side of
Qinglong Lake, in
Wangzuo Town,
Fengtai District
Fengtai District ( zh, s=丰台区, p=Fēngtái Qū) is a district of the city of Beijing. It lies mostly to the southwest of the city center, extending into the city's southwestern suburbs beyond the 6th Ring Road, Sixth Ring Road, but also to th ...
) to
Bajiao Amusement Park in
Shijingshan District
Shijingshan District () is an urban district of the city of Beijing. It lies to the west of the urban core of Beijing, and is part of the Western Hills area, bordering the districts of Haidian to the northeast and east, Fengtai to the south, an ...
. It will be in length with 9 new stations.
Construction on the Line 1 branch began on January 18, 2024.
To facilitate construction of the extension, the project will need to renovate and expand Station. According to the second announcement of the environmental impact assessment of the Line 1 branch line project released in October 2023, this station will be a new platform for the branch line of Line 1, and the new platform will be combined with the existing Line 1 platform to form a separate island platform, so that the station will become a double-island station. Since June 2, 2025, the station was closed for this renovation work, and it is expected to reopen on May 2, 2027.
Rolling Stock
Current
Former
All were based at Gucheng depot.
See also
*
Restricted stations of Line 1, Beijing Subway
Notes
References
{{Beijing Subway Station, line1=1
Beijing Subway lines
Railway lines opened in 1971
1971 establishments in China
750 V DC railway electrification
1971 in Beijing