Construction work will start on an elevated single-track light rail system at the beginning of next year in China's capital, local government sources here announced on Thursday.

The project will cost 30 million yuan (US$3.8 million) and is scheduled for completion at the beginning of 2008.

With the design stage completed, a team of international specialists from Australia and Hungary are finalizing the route, the sources said.

The 20-kilometer route will run from the Wenyu River wharf in Wendu Shuicheng community in Changping District, some 35 kilometers northeast of the center of Beijing, to the western part of Zhenggezhuang.

There will be 20 stations along the elevated route, which will be 2.5-3 meters above the ground.

Four trains will travel the route between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. every day, with a train every five minutes. The train will be free of charge for residents and tourists. The operational cost will be covered by local enterprises, said the sources, without revealing names.

Each train will have four 100-seat cabins, the sources added.

Electricity-driven and very quiet, the train will have a top speed of 20 kilometers per hour. 

(Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2006)