By BAI Fan, TANG Jun

Beijing Fengtai Railway Station, the Chinese capital’s oldest, resumed service on June 20 after four years of reconstruction. The expanded station will be one of Asia's largest rail transport hubs, said the China State Railway Group, the country’s railway operator.

Beijing Fengtai Railway Station was originally built in 1895. It used to provide both passenger and freight services until its closure in 2010.

Reconstruction of the station commenced in September 2018. The updated station has a gross floor area of nearly 400,000 square meters, 32 rail tracks and 32 platforms. It will be able to accommodate a maximum of 14,000 passengers per hour. The station offers over 200 charging poles for EVs in its parking lot, each pole is able to recharge 8 cars simultaneously.

It will also operate regular trains terminating in several cities, including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Baotou, Xiamen, Hancheng and Baoji.

Beijing Fengtai Station initially arranged 120 passenger trains, including 46 high-speed and 74 regular trains. As the seventh major transport hub of Beijing, Fengtai Station is expected to ease the pressure on other train stations in the city.

Beijing Fengtai Station will increase the number of trains, and the passenger flow in the city, forming a key part of the Beijing railway hub.