Talking Travel: Seatless Subway Trains, Test Flights at Daxing Airport, and the E-Bike Crackdown

Trains on subway Line 10 remove seats in order to carry more passengers

Line 10, as one of the busiest subway lines in Beijing carries 1 million-odd passengers on a daily basis. If you've ever had the pleasure to do so at peak times then you'll understand why people are excited about the news that a number of the subway's carriages have been reconfigured by removing seats from either side, as announced via the Beijing Subway's official Weibo account.

The system came into operation on May 6 and according to the Weibo post, by removing some of the seats each train can now carry an additional 126 passengers.
 

Daxing International Airport to have four more test flights

Nearly five years after the first excavator broke ground on the southern Beijing site, the Daxing International Airport is almost ready to greet its first fliers! A couple of months after the first test flights were conducted this January, four more test flights run today, May 13.

Specifically, today will see test flights from Boeing models 747-8, A359, A380, and 787 from Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, and Xiamen Airlines, respectively. The airport's four runways and related taxiways passed inspection two weeks ago.

Daxing International Airport is set to open in September this year. Upon operation, the airport will be the largest airport in the world and Beijing’s second major civil airport. It is expected to handle 45 million passengers annually by 2021.

Below are some of the newest images from inside the airport:

E-bike crackdown continues

Well, don't say we didn't warn you: the Beijing government has (finally) gotten serious about cracking down on unlicensed e-bikes, and traffic rules in general.

Traffic police have been spotted at many of the city's major intersections in recent days, eyeing up e-bikes and looking out for traffic law-breakers.

Despite the heavy police presence, the penalties being enforced are pretty mild and will only earn you a nihao from the police and a RMB 20 fine. Even so, it's best to read up on what is now considered unlawful behavior: 

• Not obeying a traffic light
• Obeying a traffic light but stopping beyond the stop line
• Riding in a motor vehicle-only lane
• Riding against traffic
• Carrying adult passengers (carrying kids is apparently OK)
• Not displaying a license plate even if your e-bike is registered
• Riding unregistered e-bikes
• Riding e-bikes that are not registered for Beijing
• Carrying loads higher than 1.5m from the ground, 0.15m wider than the handlebars, or with a reach further than 0.3m from the front or the rear of the e-bike

Additionally, e-bikes equipped with illegal trailers designed to carry people or loads will get a fine bill of RMB 50.

If you're unlucky enough to own an e-bike that isn't eligible for a permanent license, you're looking at an instant RMB 1,000 fine and immediate impounding of your e-bike.

The official deadline for e-bike license applications was May 1, but when we called last week to check, we can confirm that this deadline is just an empty threat and those who missed the deadline can still get their e-bike registered. Check our previous post here for a detailed guide on how to apply for a temporary license.

READ: What You Need to Know Before Buying an E-Bike in Beijing

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Email: kuang@thebeijinger.com
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Photos: Xinhua News; CGTN, IC Photo