Line 13 (Beijing Subway)

Line 13 of the Beijing Subway is a metro line that serves the northern suburbs of Beijing. On a map, Line 13's route is shaped like an inverted U that arcs north of the city and connects residential suburbs in Haidian, Changping, and Chaoyang Districts with the 2nd Ring Road and Line 2 at Xizhimen and Dongzhimen. With the exception of and a tunnel between Xi'erqi and Longze, all of Line 13's tracks and stations are located on the surface or elevated above ground. The line is 40.85 km and 16 of its 17 stations are on the surface. Line 13's color is yellow. During rush hour, the section between Xizhimen and Wudaokou Stations was reported in 2013 to be the second most congested section in the Beijing subway network, operating at 130% capacity.

Fare
There is a starting fare of RMB(¥) 3.00 that increases according to the distance, a fare scheme introduced in December 2014.

Regular subway users can use a Yikatong card, which offers even cheaper journeys, as well as mobile phone apps, which deploy payments via a QR code.

Hours of operation
The first trains depart from and  at 5:35am. The last trains to go the full-distance and reach the other terminus depart from Xizhimen and Dongzhimen at 10:42pm. In addition, Line 13 offers later night trains from either terminus that travel half of the full route. The last train to leave Xizhimen, departs at 11:45pm and ends its journey at Huilongguan at 12:09am. The last train to leave Dongzhimen, departs at 11:45pm and ends its journey at Huoying at 12:09am. For the official timetable, see. The frequency of trains on Line 13 varies from 3.5 minutes per train during the morning rush hour (6:20am – 9:40am) to 5 minutes per train during the evening rush hour (4:40pm – 8:40pm) to 10-11.5 minutes per train after 10:50pm. For a full listing of train frequency, see.

Route
Line 13's route is shaped like a horseshoe over northern Beijing. From in Xicheng District, Line 13 heads north, running alongside the Beijing-Baotou Railway into Haidian. After three stops in the bustling university district --, (transfer to Line 10), and —Line 13 leaves the 5th Ring Road and enters the suburbs of northern Haidian. At, Line 13 meets the Changping Line, and turns east, following the southern edge of Changping District for three stops (, , and ), before turning to the southeast. It enters Chaoyang District at (transfer to Line 5) and curls southwest after  onto the Beijing-Chengde Expressway. At, Line 13 intersects with Line 15. After entering the 3rd Ring Road at, the line runs straight south, along the remnants of the eastern earthen wall to Liufang. Then, Line 13 goes underground to in Dongcheng District where transfers are available to Line 2 and the Capital Airport Express.

History
Line 13 was opened in two sections: The western section between Xizhimen and Huoying was opened on September 28, 2002; the eastern section from Huoying to Dongzhimen was opened on January 28, 2003. Despite being numbered 13, the line was only the third subway line to enter into operation as lines 3 to 12 were still under planning at line 13's opening. It was the first Beijing Subway line to adopt Yikatong, the electronic farecard, at the end of 2003.

Future Development
On November 22, 2018, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources began the 30-day public consultation of a plan to split Line 13 into two lines, temporarily named Line 13A and Line 13B. According to the plan, the existing Line 13 will be split between Xi'erqi station and Huilongguan station, to form two L-shaped lines intersecting in the north of the city. Passengers can use a cross-platform interchange between Line 13A and Line 13B at a new station in the west of the Jingzang Expressway.

Line 13A


Line 13A has a total length of 31.3 km with 18 stations, including 19.54 km of new line and 13 new stations. The line will be built to support expanded 8-car Type B trains.

Line 13B
Line 13B has a total length of 32.2 km with 15 stations, including 9.0 km of new line and 6 new stations. The line will continue to use 6-car Type B trains.