Another city with a 1,000-kilometer subway network is on the way.

According to Beijing Daily, on October 12, the Beijing Municipal Government officially released the Development Plan for Modern Comprehensive Transportation System of Beijing during the 15th Five-Year Plan Period. According to the latest targets, the operating mileage of Beijing's rail transit will reach over 1,050 kilometers by 2030, and the proportion of green travel in the central urban area will hit 78%.

During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, Beijing will focus on four major paths: integrated coordination, safety improvement, digital and intelligent upgrading, and green transformation. Externally, it will build an accessible, comprehensive and three-dimensional transportation network. Internally, it will improve the urban comprehensive transportation system with slow-moving traffic as the main body, rail transit as the backbone, ground public transport as the guarantee, and private car traffic as the supplement, making every effort to build the capital lifeline that features "convenient travel for people, smooth flow of goods, safety and accessibility".

Data from the Ministry of Transport shows that as of August 2026, the operating mileage of urban rail transit in Beijing and Shanghai is 909.0 km and 881.5 km respectively, ranking top 2 nationwide and leaving a clear gap with other cities.

In August this year, Shanghai issued the 15th Five-Year Plan for Comprehensive Transportation Development of Shanghai, clarifying that it will improve the multi-mode rail transit network with integrated layout, and the operating mileage of rail transit will reach 1,260 km (including maglev lines and Jinshan Railway) by 2030.

The target of over 1,050 km of urban rail transit mileage put forward by Beijing this time means that in the next few years, the two cities will both join the "1000-kilometer Metro Club".

The "chasing and competing" between Beijing and Shanghai in rail transit construction has a long history.

In October 1969, the first phase of Beijing Metro was put into operation, making Beijing the first city with metro service in China. Exactly 24 years later, in May 1993, the 6.6km southern section of Shanghai Metro Line 1 (Jinjiang Park - Xujiahui) was completed and opened to traffic, marking the "zero breakthrough" of Shanghai's metro system. Since then, the two cities have launched several rounds of competition in urban rail transit construction with the support of major events such as the Beijing Olympic Games and the Shanghai World Expo.

Behind this race is the rigid demand of megacities for efficient public transport systems.

At present, urban rail transit is no longer just a passenger transport tool, but has become an important leverage to guide the optimization of urban structure and reshape the pattern of development space.

According to previously disclosed information, Beijing will comprehensively promote the construction of 9 urban rail transit lines (sections) totaling 150.6 km and 2 suburban railways totaling 90.5 km this year. Among them, Line 22 (Hongmiao - Pinggu) has basically met the conditions for opening, and the overall upgrading project of the suburban railway Urban Sub-center Line (Beijing West - Liangxiang) has met the conditions for initial operation.

It is particularly worth mentioning that Line 22, as the first cross-provincial urban rail transit line between Beijing and Hebei, will realize the seamless connection between Sanhe, Hebei and Beijing's urban rail transit network for the first time, bringing the three northern counties and Pinggu District into the 1-hour traffic circle of the capital.

According to Shanghai's latest plan, the city will continue to improve the service functions of urban lines, and further enhance the service coverage and development support of rail transit for key areas including Hongqiao Hub, Oriental Hub, Wujing, Wusong Innovation City and new towns. At the same time, it will accelerate the construction of the municipal rail backbone network, improve the efficiency of rail transit connection between new towns and the central urban area, and strengthen the support for national strategy bearing zones, key areas and important transformation and development zones.

This article is from the WeChat Official Account "City Evolution", written by Liu Yanmei, published with authorization from 36Kr.