Convenience key to Games' transport options

The transportation sector has rolled out tailored measures for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics Games, with smooth and safe travel set for participants of the global sporting events.

The measures will be in place from Jan 21 to March 16. With the Games hosted in three zones－downtown Beijing, its northwest Yanqing district and co-host city Zhangjiakou in Hebei province－the moves are necessary for safe and swift travel in the areas.

"Point-to-point" shuttle buses will be the main form of transportation during the Games, said Wu Shijiang, deputy head of the Beijing transport commission.

Due to epidemic control protocols, all participants are required to stay within a closed loop during the Games.

According to Wu, special lanes－marked with Beijing 2022 logos－have been set up in the capital to facilitate the movement of permitted vehicles. A total of 42 roads in Beijing stretch as long as 240 kilometers, including highways and freeways. The lanes cover links to the airport, railway stations, venues and athlete villages.

Only permitted vehicles and vehicles for emergencies, such as fire trucks and ambulances, are allowed on the Olympic lanes. Most of the special lanes are for permitted vehicles from 6 am to midnight; the expressway connecting Beijing and Zhangjiakou's Chongli district is for permitted vehicles 24 hours a day.

A newly opened expressway linking Beijing's Yanqing district and Chongli halves travel time between the two venues to one hour. In the past, there was no direct expressway linking the two areas.

The 115-km link is a smart and green expressway, according to the Ministry of Transport. It opened to traffic last year, passing mountainous areas in northwestern Beijing. Highway construction posed many challenges, with nearly 90 percent of the road's Beijing section consisting of tunnels and bridges.

The link traverses wetlands, reservoirs, mountains and other natural sightseeing areas, including the Wild Duck Wetland and the Yudu Mountains in the suburbs of Beijing. Designers and builders paid special attention to environmental protection, such as the laying of long tunnels to reduce any impact on the surroundings.

Special construction techniques, such as anti-frost road surfaces, were also adopted for the expressway to improve driving safety in mountainous areas, especially in winter.

Smart facilities and equipment such as information robots have been deployed in service areas along the expressway and a Beidou navigation system has been adopted to improve travel.

Games participants can also experience China's smart high-speed railway. During the event, railway authorities plan to arrange as many as 80 bullet train trips every day along the Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-speed Railway, with a designated speed of 350 km per hour.

Passengers can take the bullet train from downtown Beijing to Yanqing in half an hour and to Chongli in an hour, according to national operator China State Railway Group.

Four railway stations, Qinghe and Yanqing in Beijing and Taizicheng and Chongli in Zhangjiakou, offer separate services to participants in the closed loop and regular passengers, to comply with epidemic control protocols, said Cui Wei from the passenger service department of China Railway Beijing Group.

The stations are divided into two areas in and out of the closed loop. Participants who are required to stay within the loop during the Games will use the special areas at the stations, including designated bullet trains and platforms.

Regular passengers can enter, wait and board the train in the other areas.

Shuttle buses for transfers between stations and destinations are provided in certain areas.

A designated group of railway staff, including drivers, attendants and conductors, provide onboard services to passengers in the loop.

The stations also offer customer services in English and Chinese languages, as well as ski gear shipment services.

A specially designed livery for the smart Fuxing bullet train has joined the fleet to serve the Games. The white and blue design sports 24 snowflakes representing the 24th Games.

It has eight cars, including business, first- and second-class compartments. A broadcast of the Games and Wi-Fi are provided onboard.

To serve media needs, the train has special working compartments with tables and international electric sockets. There is also a high-definition studio for live broadcasts of interviews with athletes and officials, supported by 5G technology. The train is the first of its kind to offer HD signal transmission while traveling at speeds of up of 350 kilometers per hour.

The interiors are decorated with Winter Games motifs, including winter sports photos on the walls and paper snowflakes on the roof.

"It is the most advanced bullet train in China," said Zhu Yan of the engineering research center at the China Railway Rolling Stock Corp (CRRC)Changchun Railway Vehicles, the manufacturer of the train. He added that the train has intelligent, green and cultural aspects.

Its 2,700 automatic inspection sensors collect operational data, including those from the brake and traction systems as well as vibration and temperature information.