Passenger numbers prompt holiday closure of zoo station

Beijing Zoo Subway Station is to be temporarily closed to passengers during the October 1 National Day holidays to ensure safety, with passengers being urged to use the next station instead.　

Yang Ling, spokesperson for Beijing MTR Corporation, said Thursday that due to the large number of passengers expected to travel to Beijing Zoo, the station, on Subway Line 4, will be closed from 10 am to 6 pm during the holiday.

"The trains won't stop, but passengers who are going to places near the zoo can get off in Xizhimen or the National Library Station. Since Xizhimen Station is a major interchange, we advise people to get off at the National Library Station, and then they can walk or take other transportation to their destination," Yang said.

According to the local traffic authority, there are expected to be over 180 million individual trips on Beijing's public transportation system during the holiday, 22.5 million individual trips on average each day, a minor increase from last year.

The Municipal Commission of Transport said the traffic volume on the city's public buses is expected to reach 100 million individual trips, with 50 million individual trips on subways over the period.　

"The number of travelers will increase by 20 percent compared with the same period last year. We are well prepared to ensure passenger safety and subway operations," said Jia Peng, Beijing Subway spokesman.

Beijing has seen severe gridlock ahead of the eight-day holiday. On Tuesday, the capital's roads were seriously affected, with worse to come, said traffic authorities.　

Beijing South Railway Station saw an increase in passenger numbers Thursday.

"It's too crowded in the station. We can usually get a ticket at the station, but tickets for some departures have sold out," a passenger surnamed Xie, bound for Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, said Thursday.