Line 18 of the Beijing Subway (), also known as the Line 13-18 temporary through service line, is a metro line that serves the northern suburbs of Beijing, from in the west in Haidian District to in the east in Changping District. The line is long with 11 stations, and has a stabling yard in Xiaoxinzhuang (小辛庄停车场). It currently does not feature an interchange with Line 13. The line was originally planned to open between and at the end of 2025, and to open between and in 2026, but due to the quick construction progress, the entire section opened on December 27, 2025.
History Construction
In April 2023, all 11 stations in the northern section of the Beijing Subway Line 13 split project started construction. As of January 2025, most of the stations in the 8-car lengthening project of the existing Line 13 (Xierqi Station to Dazhongsi Station) were still in a state of fencing the construction site, which meant construction had not started substantively or the construction progress was slow, with the tentative construction period expected to last until December 2027. In addition, the construction progress of the underground Station on the east side of the existing Longze Station was also slow, with the current tentative construction period also lasting till the end of 2027. The tunnel entry point south of Station in the southern extension has not yet made major progress due to the demolition of existing buildings. Due to land acquisition issues, construction of the new Station was delayed until April 2024. Affected by the above factors, from December 2025 to December 2027, the new northern section of the Line 13 split project will be operated independently as a new line. The new line was once tentatively called the "Yizi line of Line 13".
In June 2025, CRCC confirmed to use the name Line 13-18 north section through line (13-18北段贯通线). As of July 2025, all stations from Malianwa to Tiantongyuandong have been topped out and all tunnel sections were broken through. In September of the same year, the line confirmed the adoption of the name of Beijing Subway Line 18 and began a no-load trial operation for no less than three months, with plans to open for operation by the end of 2025.
On December 26, 2025, the Beijing Municipal Transportation Commission and the Municipal Major Office confirmed that Line 18 was to open the following day.
Initial operation On December 27, 2025, Line 18 officially opened. On December 29 the same year, as the first working day after the opening of Line 18, nearly 20,000 people entered and exited Line 18 during the morning rush hour (7:00-9:00).
Opening timeline SegmentCommencementLengthStation(s)Name Malianwa — Tiantongyuandong 27 December 2025 11 Initial section
List of stations List of stations from west to east. Station Name Connections Nearby Bus Stops Distance Location 0.000.00Haidian2.1532.1531.5923.7453.2206.965Changping1.8638.8281.0359.8631.75911.6221.13412.7564.21916.9751.05818.0331.77219.805
Future development Line 13A will use the Line 18 name after the official completion of the expansion project of Line 13. Stations on Line 13B, together with the stations west of on Line 18, will operate under Line 13. However, the actual use of the Line 18 name is unconfirmed.
Below is the tentative route of Line 18 if it operates in the future according to Line 13A: Legend - Stations under construction
Station Name Connections DistanceLocation Xicheng (Rebuild) Haidian Changping
Rolling stock
The line uses 6-car type B rolling stock. In the early stage of operation, ZBM15 EMUs developed by Hebei Railway Company and CCD5091 EMUs will be used with only slight differences in appearance.
Current ModelImageManufacturerYear builtYear refurbishedAmount in serviceFleet numbersDepot ZBM15 Beijing Subway Rolling Stock Equipment 2023-2024 44 13 001–13 044 (tentatively using 18 instead of 13) Xiaoxinzhuang Notes
References