This Day, That Year: Jan 21

Editor's note: This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China.

On Jan 21, 1996, the first train left Beijing West Railway Station, marking the official opening of the station. It was the largest in Asia when it was completed in 1995.

An item from Sept 2 that year in China Daily showed passengers lining up at the station to embark the first train to travel from Beijing to Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on the new Beijing-Kowloon line.

The nation's capital has four railway stations - Beijing, Beijing West, Beijing South and Beijing North. With the establishment of a new administrative center in Tongzhou district, it will soon have another. Construction of the new Beijing Fengtai Station started last year and is expected to be completed by the end of 2020.

Once completed, the buildings of the new station will cover 398,000 square meters, which is 78,000 sq m larger than Beijing South Railway Station, currently one of Asia's largest. The project is aimed at easing pressure on Beijing West Railway Station, which reached its capacity of 180,000 passengers a day in 2016.

The new Fengtai station is designed with 12 platforms and 22 rail lines, with major high-speed routes, including lines from the capital to Guangzhou, Shanghai and Hong Kong, according to the Beijing Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

The old Fengtai station, built in 1895, was the oldest in the capital. It ceased passenger service in June 2010, and trains just pass through.

The city's expansion of railway stations reflects the growth of the country's railway network in recent years. According to a plan issued by the National Development and Reform Commission, China will have a 175,000-kilometer rail network by the end of 2025, including 38,000 km of high-speed track.

Since the opening of the first high-speed rail line in 2007, 29,000 km have been laid.