Subway operation will be resumed in Tianjin, the largest port city in north China, in 2006, said an executive with Tianjin Subways Corporation.

According to the executive, the No.1 subway now being constructed is built on the basis of a 7.4-km-long metro section which was suspended from operation in March 2002. Building of civil works for the subway is expected to be finished by August this year and the subway will be ready for service by late 2005.

By then the subway system will be capable of handling 48,100 journeys per hour, said the executive.

The executive disclosed that they signed contracts on Wednesday with two other companies to lease 100 carriages for operation on the 26.2-km-long subway under a term of 29 years.

Preparations for two new subways, the No. 2 and No.3 subways, which will be 22.6 km and 26 km long, respectively, are being carried out. Construction of the two projected subways will start within this year, the executive added.

Subway service is now available in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Other prosperous Chinese cities such as Shenzhen, Wuhan,Qingdao are also catching up by building their own subways or planning to do so.
 
(Xinhua News Agency February 21, 2004)