Beijing's Central Business District (CBD) will be linked to other parts of the city by at least four subway lines in the future, an official said.

Underground channels will also be built to connect landmark buildings in the area, providing people with better access to the subway.

The underground transport network is expected to help alleviate the current heavy traffic pressure on the CBD, said Cheng Hong, deputy head of Chaoyang District, which is home to the CBD.

Chen Gang, the Chaoyang District head, last year described the traffic problem as "the biggest challenge facing the CBD".

Wang Yingchao, 36, who drives through the area every day, said: "The traffic in the CBD at rush hour is terrible. Walking is definitely faster than taking a bus or driving."

With both the China Central Television Station and Beijing Television Station expected to move to the area soon, people are concerned the situation will get even worse.

Cheng Hong, however, said there was no need to worry about traffic.

She told the Beijing Evening News that the construction of new subways and underground channels was part of the 2002 plan for the area, which includes a range of infrastructure measures to improve the transport and communication networks between buildings in the district.

The district government will begin construction of the underground channels this year. Numerous buildings within the CBD have already made requests to be linked to the new network.

"We plan to have at least seven landmark buildings connected to the underground channels by the end of the year," Cheng said. Two of those will be the Yintai Center and the Central International Trade Center.

In 2009, the third phase of the China World Trade Center, the Beijing Fortune Center and the Beijing Capital Trade Center will also be connected to the network.

Once the subways are completed, it will be possible for people to commute to and from the CBD, and move around within it, without ever being above ground.

According to an official study, more than half the people working in the CBD use public transport to get there.

Wang Yingchao, who works for a real estate company, said: "The new system will save a lot of time for those who travel by bus, but I'm afraid the traffic will get worse during the construction of the subways and underground channels."

The Chaoyang District administration has taken several measures to improve the road network inside the CBD and to provide effective connections to surrounding roads.

Currently, 55 percent of the traffic congesting the CBD is simply passing through.

Source: China Daily