Line 13 of the Beijing Subway () is a metro line that serves the northern suburbs of Beijing. On a map, Line 13's route is shaped like an inverted U that arcs north of the city and connects residential suburbs in Haidian, Changping, and Chaoyang Districts with the 2nd Ring Road and Line 2 at Xizhimen and Dongzhimen. With the exception of and a tunnel between Xi'erqi and Longze, all of Line 13's tracks and stations are located on the surface or elevated above ground. The line is in length and 16 of its 17 stations are on the surface. Line 13's color is yellow on official maps, signage, and station branding. During rush hour, the section between Xizhimen and Wudaokou stations was reported in 2013 to be the second most congested section in the Beijing subway network, operating at 130% capacity.
Fare The Bejing subway fares range from CNY 3-10 for all lines, with digital banking systems being a prominent payment type as opposed to traditional ticketing.
Regular subway users can use a Yikatong card, which offers cheaper journeys, as well as mobile phone apps, which deploy payments via a QR code.
Hours of operation The first trains depart from and at 5:34am. The last trains to go the full-distance and reach the other terminus depart from Xizhimen and Dongzhimen at 10:49pm and 10:41pm respectively. In addition, Line 13 offers later night trains from either terminus that travel half of the route's length. The last train to leave Xizhimen, departs at 11:45pm and ends its journey at Huilongguan at 12:09am. The last train to leave Dongzhimen, departs at 11:45pm and ends its journey at Huoying at 12:09am. The official timetable of the first and last trains of Line 13 can be seen online. The frequency of trains on Line 13 varies from 3.5 minutes per train during the morning rush hour (6:20am – 9:40am) to 5 minutes per train during the evening rush hour (4:40pm – 8:40pm) to 10-11.5 minutes per train after 10:50pm. For a full listing of train frequency, see.
Route
Line 13's route is shaped like a horseshoe over northern Beijing. From in Xicheng District, Line 13 heads north, running alongside the Beijing-Baotou Railway into Haidian. After three stops in the bustling university district -- , (transfer to Line 10), and —Line 13 leaves the 5th Ring Road and enters the suburbs of northern Haidian. At , Line 13 meets the Changping Line, and turns east, following the southern edge of Changping District for three stops (, , and ), before turning to the southeast. It enters Chaoyang District at (transfer to Line 5) and curls southwest after onto the Beijing-Chengde Expressway. At , Line 13 intersects with Line 15. After entering the 3rd Ring Road at , the line runs straight south, along the remnants of the eastern earthen wall to Liufang. Then, Line 13 goes underground to in Dongcheng District where transfers are available to Line 2 and the Capital Airport Express.
Stations (from West to East) Station Name Connections Nearby Bus Stops Travel Time Distance Location 0:000.0000.000Xicheng (OSI)0:032.8392.839Haidian0:051.2064.0450:081.8295.8740:134.86610.740 0:151.03611.7760:161.54513.3210:213.62316.944Changping0:241.42318.3670:282.11020.4770:334.78525.262Chaoyang0:362.27227.534 0:446.72034.2540:472.15236.4060:491.11037.5160:511.13538.651 0:531.76940.420Dongcheng From Xizhimen to Dongzhimen, line 13 had station numbers from 1301 to 1316, except for Qinghe Railway Station. The station numbers in Beijing Subway for new subway stations were cancelled before Line 5 opened in October 2007.
History
Line 13 was opened in two sections: The western section between Xizhimen and Huoying was opened on September 28, 2002; the eastern section from Huoying to Dongzhimen was opened on January 28, 2003. Despite being numbered 13, the line was only the third subway line to enter into operation as lines 3 to 12 were still under planning at line 13's opening. It was the first Beijing Subway line to adopt Yikatong, the electronic farecard, at the end of 2003.
SegmentCommencementLengthStation(s)Name Xizhimen — Huoying 28 September 2002 9 Western section Huoying — Dongzhimen 28 January 2003 7 Eastern section Xi'erqi (new) 25 December 2010 Infill station 1 Xi'erqi replacement project Xi'erqi (old) Decommissioned -1 Qinghe Railway Station 30 December 2019 Infill station 1
Future development On November 22, 2018, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Planning and Natural Resources began the 30-day public consultation of a plan to split Line 13 into two lines, temporarily named Line 13A and Line 13B. This was later changed to Line 18 and a new shortened Line 13 respectively. According to the plan, the existing Line 13 will be split between Xi'erqi station and Huilongguan station, to form two L-shaped lines intersecting in the north of the city. Passengers can use a cross-platform interchange between Line 13 and Line 18 at Longzexi station, an underground station in the west of the Jingzang Expressway (this station will only open for Line 18 in 2025. Line 13 at this station will be delayed to 2027).
Line 13-18 temporary through service (Line 18 initial section, 2025-2026)
In 2024, Beijing Infrastructure Investment (BII) suggested that, due to slow status of some new stations, both new sections of Line 13A and 13B will temporary be pieced together as a new line, tentatively called "Yizi line of Line 13" (). The Yizi line will start operation in 2025-2026. The line is expected to open in late 2025. It will be 19.8 km in length with 11 stations. The line will be fully underground.
In June 2025, CRCC confirmed to use Line 13-18 north section through line (13-18北段贯通线). Sometime after, this was renamed to Line 18 (initial section).
Station Name ConnectionsNearby Bus Stops DistanceLocation Haidian Changping
Line 18 (after 2027)
Line 18 (planning name Line 13A) under construction will have a total length of with 19 stations, including of new line and 13 new stations. The line will be built to support expanded 8-car Type B trains. Station Name Connections DistanceLocation Xicheng (Rebuild) Haidian Changping
New Line 13 (after 2027) The new Line 13 (planning name Line 13B) will have a total length of with 15 stations, including of new line and 6 new stations. The line will continue to use 6-car Type B trains. Station Name Connections DistanceLocation Haidian Changping (Rebuild) Chaoyang Dongcheng
Rolling stock
The line uses 6-car type B rolling stock.
Current ModelImageManufacturerYear builtYear refurbishedAmount in serviceFleet numbersDepot DKZ5 CRRC Changchun Railway VehiclesBeijing Subway Rolling Stock Equipment2002 2015–2018 55 H401, H403–H456Huilongguan DKZ6 CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles 2015 1 H402 ZBM15 Beijing Subway Rolling Stock Equipment 2023-2024 44 13 001–13 044 HuilongguanXiaoxinzhuang (after the split project)
Former ModelImageManufacturerYear builtYear RetiredNumber MadeFleet numbersDepotNotes DK3G CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles 1971 2003 14 H101–H114Huilongguan DK8 1986 2002 4 H115–H118 M Tokyu Car Corporation 1984 2003 1 H301 DKZ1 CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles 1998 2003 1 H302 BD8 Beijing Subway Rolling Stock Equipment 2000 2003 1 H303 Formerly used by Tianjin Metro. DKZ10 CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles 2005 2010 1 H457 Retired due to reliability issues.
Notes
References