Beijing’s recently opened metro lines offer new experiences in urban transit
In 2001, Beijing won the bid to host the 2008 Olympics. That was a catalyst for profound changes to happen with the city’s transportation, something still ongoing with a system rapidly advancing in rolling stock technology and station design.
In early design, there was little concept of accessibility, with priority given to how a station would operate. Just like it happened in early metro and railway stations in the Western countries. However, design and planning have advanced considerably, particularly in Beijing’s recently opened stations. In the 1970s/80s China’s population was much younger and thus more agile than today. Now there are many more senior citizens, some with mobility challenges and certainly less able to tackle stairs. There are also numbers of younger people also challenged by a range of disabilities, which in previous years could make using public transport at times impossible to access.
