Beijing subway Line Four began a three-month test-run on Saturday. The tests will ensure the entire system is safe and ready for operation. The new line was built with help from Hong Kong's MTR Corporation, the first in the country to be constructed with overseas investment.

The Line Four has 24 stations in total and links the north-west Haidian district with the city's southern Fengtai district. According to national regulations, the line must run with an empty load for three months before it opens to the public. The MTR Corporation has prepared thirty trains with six carriages each for the test run. It takes 48 minutes to travel the whole line.

Huo Zhichang, Project Manager of MTR Corp. said "The final touches to the trains' interior have basically been finished with only a few minor tasks left to do. The trains' mechanics are still being adjusted."

Adopting many of the management techniques of the Hong Kong subway system, it is hoped that Line Four will provide better and more efficient services to passengers. Every station on the line has been equipped with a passenger service center. More than 600 members of the line's service staff will take etiquette training and be prepared with knowledge of the city's traffic.

Beijing began to build its first subway lines in 1964. So far, eight lines have been put into operation, all of them run by the state-owned Beijing Subway Corporation. The boost from overseas investment is aimed at improving efficiency and management through market competition.

(CCTV June 22, 2009)