Line 1 (Beijing Subway)

As the oldest line of the Beijing Subway, Line 1 was also the most heavily used from the time the subway opened in 1971 until January 2013, when the near-completion of the Line 10 loop caused ridership on that line to surge past Line 1. Recent traffic relief efforts have been completed in recent years. The opening of the first phase of the parallel Line 6, caused an 8.46% decrease in daily demand and a 10-20% reduction in peak flow during rush hour.[8] In addition Beijing BRT line 2 parallels the eastern section of Line 1. In the meantime between 2014 and 2015, Line 1 again upgraded its signals to a communications-based train control system allowing trains to run at headways as low as 1 minutes 45 seconds. However, during peak hours, sections of the line were reported in 2013 to still operate above 100% capacity.[8]

The first east-bound trains departs from Gucheng at 4:58 am and Pingguoyuan at 5:10 am. The first west-bound train departs Sihui at 4:56 am and Sihui East at 5:05 am. The last east-bound train leaves Pingguoyuan at 10:55 pm. The last west-bound train leaves Sihui East at 11:15 pm.[9]

Line 1's western terminus is Pingguoyuan, located in Shijingshan District. The line heads southeast to its second stop at Gucheng and from there runs straight east, following Chang'an Avenue all the way to its eastern terminus, Sihuidong in Chaoyang District, just beyond the 4th Ring Road. The line passes through Xidan, Wangfujing and Dongdan, among other important commercial centers of Xicheng and Dongcheng Districts, as well as the Beijing CBD near the China World Trade Center. The line is 31.04 km (19.29 mi)[6] in length with 23 stations in operation. All stations except for Sihui and Sihuidong are underground.

Station list for Line 1 and Batong line of Beijing Subway, after the through operation started on August 29, 2021.[7]
● Normal: Gucheng — Huanqiu Dujiaqu (Universal Resort)
● Morning rush hour: Gongzhufen — Guoyuan
● Evening rush hour: Gucheng — Guoyuan

Yuquan Lu station, Opened on August 5, 1971. The first phase of the Beijing subway project groundbreaking ceremony was held west of Yuquanlu Road.

The first section of subway in Beijing officially started trial operation on January 15, 1971. It was 10.7 km (6.6 mi) long and ran between Beijing railway station to Gongzhufen,[lower-alpha 2] which today is a section of Line 1 and 2.[13] A few months later, on August 15, 1971, the line was extended 3 stations west, to Yuquan Lu. The line was extended again to Gucheng in November. On April 23, 1973, the line was extended Pingguoyuan, at this point the line is 23.6 km (14.7 mi) long with 17 stations.[13] On September 15, 1981, the line was again extended westward to Fushouling creating a 27.6 km (17.1 mi) long line with 19 stations. The line was transferred to the newly created Beijing Mass Transit Operation Corporation and was officially opened to the public, ending the decade long trial operation period. By 1981, the annual passenger volume of Beijing Subway was 64.66 million passengers, with a daily average of 177,000 passenger trips.[14]

On August 15, 1986, the second phase of subway construction started and a feasibility study on the construction of the new line between of Fuxingmen to Bawangfen (Today's Beijing CBD) was carried out. A new branch heading east to a new station, Fuxingmen, was completed between Nanlishi Lu and Changchun Jie stations on December 28, 1987. The section between Changchun Jie and Beijing railway station was transferred to the newly created Line 2 and Line 1 ran between Pingguoyuan and Fuxingmen stations. In January 1991, the feasibility study report on the construction of a new line between Fuxingmen to Bawangfen was approved with construction of the new "Fuba line", starting in June 1992. On December 12, 1992, Line 1 was extended east for one station to Xidan. In 1994, Line 1's signals were upgraded to automatic train protection system.[15] On September 28, 1999, the first section of the Fuba line between Tian'anmenxi to Sihuidong was opened. On June 28, 2000, the section between Xidan and Tian'anmenxi stations opened, merging Line 1 and the Fuba Line to create a 31 km (19 mi) line with 23 stations.[15]

Line 1 train at Wangfujing in 2007.

In 1992, Line 1 was extended east one station to Xidan.

Platform of Tian'anmen East station

Platform screen doors

In 2017, platform screen doors were installed on the platform of Line 1.

Due to platform congestion and suicides, a proposal was made in 2010 to refit all stations on Line 1 with platform screen doors.[18] However, the ventilation system in the older stations of Line 1 was incompatible with full-height platform screen doors, so half height platform screen doors were chosen instead.[19] In July 2016, the operator began installing platform screen doors on Line 1.[20] In 2016, the platform screen doors was installed at Yong'anli station.[21] By the end of 2017, all stations except Pingguoyuan were retrofitted with half-height platform screen doors, and all the screen doors were put into operation for the first time.[22]

Through operations with the Batong line

Route display reserved for through service from Pingguo Yuan to Universal Resort

In 2010, a CPPCC member Chen Dingwang, proposed that services on Line 1 and the Batong line should directly link, with through operations, reducing travel times and removing the unnecessary forced transfers at Sihuidong or Sihui.[23] However, the Beijing Subway responded that Line 1's and Batong's signal systems are completely different, so through-operation will be more difficult to achieve, from an engineering standpoint. As of 2016, preliminary design and feasibility studies are underway to allow for through operations between Line 1 and Batong.[24] On June 12, 2020, the project of the through operation of Line 1 and Batong line was approved by Beijing Development and Reform Commission.[25] Through operation with the Batong line started on 29 August 2021.[7]

Rolling stock for Line 1 is maintained at Gucheng and Sihui.

Beyond Pingguoyuan, Line 1 extends further northwest where it has several other stations: Gaojing (高井) and Fushouling (福寿岭). Gaojing station is in the military region. Fushouling station is actually outside the military region. These stations are not open for public use.

Fushouling station will open to public in 2023.[26][27]

A proposal to open the Gaojing station to public is mentioned within 2022 and 2023 working plan of the Shijingshan District.[26][28]

• Restricted stations of Line 1, Beijing Subway