Underground railways are experiencing an unprecedented construction boom in China. Currently, the operating mileage of urban rail transit is over 2,500 kilometers, with 81.7% being metro, far higher than the international level of 30%. Why, after so many years of discussing solutions to urban traffic problems, are traffic jams in big cities getting worse and metros more crowded?

    As an important means to alleviate urban congestion and an important feature of urban modernization, underground railways are experiencing an unprecedented construction boom in China. According to an exclusive interview with Shi Zhongheng, director of the Committee of the China Association of Metros and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, China's urban rail transit operating mileage currently exceeds 2,500 kilometers, of which 81.7% is metro, far higher than the international level of 30%. China has thus become the country with the longest metro lines and the highest proportion of rail transit in the world.

    Take Beijing as an example. Although since the 2008 Beijing Olympics, great efforts have been made to develop public transport, mainly metro, at least from the public's perception, traffic has become increasingly congested. Moreover, while mileage has grown substantially, the metro itself appears overwhelmed. As China's authoritative metro expert, Shi Zhongheng does not advocate more drastic continued expansion of the metro network.

    Because in addition to many technical issues such as transfers and energy saving, China's metro also faces some deeper challenges, many of which cannot be overcome by the metro system itself.

    For example, metro construction needs to catch up with and coordinate with frequently changing urban planning deeply influenced by the will of officials, thus appearing chaotic and exhausting.

Based on his experience in providing metro construction consulting for multiple cities, Shi Zhongheng expressed strong aversion to "mayoral decision-making" in an exclusive interview with this journal. Rail transit is not just underground railways. Metro construction in China is no longer just a matter of urban transportation. It has profoundly and directly reflected many challenges in the entire country's development process.

    Why, after so many years of discussing solutions to urban traffic problems, are traffic jams in big cities getting worse and metros more crowded?

    Shi Zhongheng: The congestion problem starts with planning. Our current planning keeps changing. Rail transit planning is part of urban planning, but urban planning is adjusted again and again. For example, recently a vice minister mentioned the problem of Tiantongyuan in Beijing. When we first reviewed Beijing Metro Line 5, there was no Tiantongyuan Station in the plan. The passenger flow forecast given by the forecasting unit at that time was very different from the actual passenger flow after the line opened.

    Urban planning is always changing. For example, Beijing CBD is now moving further east. Most people working in high-rise buildings do not live nearby; they have to commute every day, which puts pressure on traffic.

    Comrade Xi Jinping said that traffic congestion is a major problem and proposed scientific planning. Now, not only in Beijing but across the country, planning is not fixed and is often adjusted. Once urban planning is adjusted, the city's rail transit planning must change accordingly. Changes bring many problems. For example, the original forecast peak passenger flow was 30,000, but after the urban planning change, this number became 50,000, so after opening the metro is very crowded and flow must be restricted.

    Planning is the foundation. Metro planning should be closely integrated with urban planning. Urban planning must be stable and legislated, and cannot be changed at will. A big problem now is that when a new mayor arrives and puts forward new requirements, routes are changed. Guangzhou originally planned to build metros where north-south and east-west passenger flows are largest, but after the new mayor arrived, he required a loop line. This sounds easy, but a loop line must have transfer stations with every straight line. Building transfer stations on already-built metros creates many problems.

    Another example: in 1987, when reviewing the feasibility report of Shanghai Line 1, only the construction itself was considered. At that time, we proposed whether transfer designs should be considered for People's Square and Xujiahui [4.36% Capital Research]. We suggested that the feasibility report should take this into account. But Shanghai engineers said it could not be considered. Later, when building transfer stations for Metro Line 2, the difficulty became very great. As a result, not only were there repeated changes, but even now transfers at People's Square are still inconvenient.

    Traffic, traffic—only when intersections are smooth is it truly traffic. Such planning is reasonable. A typical example: when building Xidan Station on Beijing Metro Line 1, we proposed that the ground level be for east-west traffic without traffic lights, below that north-south roads, below that the east-west metro station, and below that the north-south station. This plan was submitted to the National Development and Reform Commission and discussed eight times. Finally, when it came to municipal approval, the leaders just disagreed. The final result was that the station was moved east, and Xidan Metro Station is 190 meters from the road center, making access from the four corners very inconvenient.

    This is a typical administrative order, not scientific and democratic decision-making. Now the central government has proposed that democratic decision-making is very important. We should adopt a scientific attitude and make decisions after democratic discussion. When I visited Bordeaux, France, they initially wanted to build 5 to 10 kilometers of metro in the city center, but when the plan was submitted to the parliament for discussion, the parliament disagreed. Because metro is expensive and takes a long time, after discussion it was changed to building a tram. In the end, they built 20 kilometers of tram with the cost of building 5 kilometers of metro. This shows that planning must be legislated and decision-making must be scientific and democratic.

    Traffic congestion is a major problem. From the top, urban planning has not been well considered. In fact, urban population must be combined with urban resources and the urban environment. If there are not enough resources but the population grows indefinitely, land resources and water resources will become major problems.

    The carrying capacity of a city is related to resources, land, power supply, traffic, etc. Traffic is also a resource. For a period, Beijing required that building construction first assess whether traffic is feasible before planning decisions, but later this was dropped.

Beijing proposes to build a livable city. If resources are insufficient and even going out is congested, how can it be livable?

    In the past, it was said that there were many cars because public transport was inconvenient. In recent years, great efforts have been made to develop public transport, but why has there been no relief?

Shi Zhongheng: When a city has air pollution and inconvenient travel, people drive cars. If public transport is very convenient and comfortable, why drive yourself? In the 1950s, taking the metro in Moscow was very convenient. There were short-distance buses near residential areas that could take nearby residents to metro stations.

    Why is the metro called backbone transportation? Large passenger flows should pass through the metro, and buses should be on the periphery. For example, in Hong Kong, buses can conveniently take passengers to metro stations. Now our buses and metro lines have become competitors rather than complements.

When the metro line from Fuxingmen to Bawangfen was completed, buses on the ground still ran in parallel. We suggested that ground transport should feed passengers from the periphery to the metro, but the bus company disagreed. This is very unreasonable.

There are many reasons for traffic congestion, complex and intertwined. The most important is planning, and planning must be reasonable. The relationship between ground buildings and traffic, and with public transport... should be considered in an integrated way.

    This issue absolutely cannot be decided by the mayor alone; the mayor should only be the executor. When I visited Japan in 1977, they introduced that rail transit planning is approved by the parliament, and the mayor executes according to the parliament's approval. The plan cannot be modified; if modified, the proposal must still be approved by the parliament.

    Our problem is that the preliminary work of planning is insufficient. Metros should be built in city centers to solve congestion. Beijing started building Line 13 before the city center lines were completed. At the initial review, many people disagreed, believing that north-south city center lines should be built first, and after the network was formed, then extend outward. Otherwise, the metro cannot fully play its role.

    From the beginning of planning, traffic and urban development, as well as urban resources, should be integrated. It is indeed difficult to consider these issues uniformly, but this problem must be solved. If not solved, ordinary people will suffer every day. The metro is the largest livelihood project. High-speed rail is taken only twice a year, but the metro is taken every day, and commuting may be miserable every day.

    What is the current status of urban rail transit in our country?

    Shi Zhongheng: According to statistics, the operating mileage of urban rail transit in our country currently exceeds 2,500 kilometers, the vast majority of which is metro, with a proportion as high as 81.7%. This makes China the country with the longest metro lines and the highest proportion in the world. Abroad, this proportion is generally 30%. For example, London's metro reaches 410 kilometers and has been built for 100 years. Beijing now has 465 kilometers, and we have only built for a few decades.

    Initially, we built metros for combat readiness. I returned from the Soviet Union in 1959 and started building metros. At that time, the Ministry of National Defense set the depth at 120 meters. I reported to relevant leaders that 120 meters was too deep, that there was no such experience in the world, and that the difficulty was too great. Later, the Central Committee held a meeting and decided to adopt shallow burial plus protection. The deepest point is Xizhimen Station on Line 2, only 27 meters.

    Initially, combat readiness was considered, and only later was traffic considered. Although the metro continues to extend, according to the principles of underground railway design, it should be in the city center, generally 20 to 30 kilometers long. If going to farther suburban counties, one should transfer to buses. Outside the city center, regional lines or trams should be used.

    Urban rail transit should be multi-modal, not limited to metro. It should adapt to local conditions and build what is needed. Metro is the most expensive, costing 600 million to 800 million yuan per kilometer, while light rail and ground trams cost less. Currently, the state has approved metro lines in 28 cities, including some second- and third-tier cities. Some city officials even claim that their metro construction level cannot be lower than Beijing's. This trend is alarming. Many places are clearly more suitable for trams or light rail, which run on the ground, saving electricity for air conditioning, lighting, and escalators.

    Many social benefits of the metro cannot actually be accurately calculated. But metro construction should follow the principle of adapting to local conditions: what can be above ground should not be underground; what can be on the ground should not be elevated.

    Recently, Shenyang built nearly 60 kilometers of tram in only a year and a half, with an investment of 5.8 billion yuan, averaging less than 100 million yuan per kilometer—cheap and fast. The key problem with metro is transfers. Passengers generally spend a lot of time transferring, going up and down escalators, walking through platforms, etc., which is very strenuous. But tram platforms are very simple, saving electricity and convenient. So from the planning stage, we must consider what mode to use for construction.

Although social benefits cannot be accurately calculated, rail transit still has economic accounts that can be calculated. How do you view this issue?

    Shi Zhongheng: Rail transit investment is too large, and short-term benefits are a problem. We must find ways to improve the economic benefits of urban rail transit. Metro investment reaches 600 million to 800 million yuan per kilometer. These funds include 30% to 40% urban funds and about 70% loans. Loans carry interest of over 6%.

    Now some mayors only know to build metros quickly but ignore the problem of repaying loans. On one hand, loans require principal and interest repayment; on the other hand, there is depreciation, civil engineering costs, vehicle costs, etc. The money for building metros now must be repaid by future generations. The cost is very high, and the money will eventually come from the people's taxes.

    Shenzhen proposed that future Lines 4, 6, and 8 will not require a single cent from the municipal government and will be self-financing. Thus citizens will not bear a greater burden, and fiscal funds can be used in other livelihood areas. In fact, our funding for education and healthcare is very limited.

A few days ago, I saw news that Beijing's fiscal subsidy for public transport reached 18 billion yuan, a frighteningly high cost, equivalent to healthcare subsidies. I verified that the metro loss was 1.8 billion yuan, and the rest was subsidies for buses. Now many buses run empty, and the government subsidizes too much. These funds should be invested in education and other livelihood areas.

    The metro should reduce investment, improve efficiency, increase revenue and reduce expenditure, cut construction costs, and fully utilize the value of land along the lines. Hong Kong has already achieved this, and Shenzhen is also working on it. For example, Shenzhen Line 3 is an elevated line with low power consumption and achieved a profit of 40 million yuan last year. Building metros should solve congestion while reducing the burden on the people.

    Energy saving in metros is also very important. The power supply department told me that a 20-kilometer metro line consumes 100 million kWh of electricity per year. Beijing plans to reach 660 kilometers of metro lines in the future, and the total power consumption will be enormous.