Beijing West Railway Station

Coordinates: 39°53′40″N 116°18′54″E / 39.89444°N 116.315°E / 39.89444; 116.315

Beijing West Station

Beijing's West Railway Station or just abbreviated as Beijing West (Chinese: 北京西客站; pinyin: Běijīng Xīkèzhàn abb. Běijīng Xī 北京西, colloquially referred to as West Station 西站) is located in western Beijing's Fengtai District. Opened in early 1996 after three years of construction, it is the largest railway station in Asia^[1] The station serves in average 150,000–180,000 passengers per day with a maximum of 400,000 people per day.^[2] It was expanded in 2000 and had a vast amount parking lots added.

The Beijing West station opened in 1996 and cost three-quarters-of-a-billion dollars, but some correspondents say it has long been tainted by suspicions of corruption and complaints of shoddy workmanship.^[3]

Services

Trains departing from Beijing West leave for destinations to the West (including Xi'an, Chongqing and Chengdu, and transcontinental trains for Lhasa and Urumqi) and the Beijing-Guangzhou and Beijing-Kowloon Main Trunk Lines. The remainder are served by Beijing Railway Station.

The well-known Jingjiu Railway, or Beijing-Kowloon Railway line, begins from this railway station.

Since the opening of the Qingzang railway in 2006, it is possible to catch a direct train to Lhasa from this station.

When completed, Beijing Subway Line 4 (2013?) and Line 7 (2012?) will serve the station. In addition, another underground link line will be built to connect it with the Beijing Railway Station, which has been planned since the Beijing Railway Station was completed in 1950s.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Official site

References

1. ^ Rough Guide to China - fifth edition, page 83
2. ^ http://rail.bmc-ad.com/media-locations/railway-stations/bejing-west-railway-station/
3. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/164299.stm