The minimum train intervals on Beijing's Metro Line 2 subway, one of the capital's busiest, will be shortened to 2.5 minutes prior to the city's hosting of the 2008 Olympics Games, its operator said.

The company will cut the usual three-minute interval between trains during rush hour by 30 seconds from early July for line 2, which runs in a loop round the city center, Jia Peng, Beijing Subway Operation Co. Ltd. spokesman, said.

The company has finished installing the world's most advanced signal system, making it possible to shorten the interval time.

"Passengers will feel more convenience and be safer as all the trains and tracks will have been replaced with new ones ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games," he said.

Late last year, the train intervals were shortened to 2.5 minutes on the east-west line 1, Beijing's first subway line which runs through the core of the city.

Beijing runs five metro lines covering 93 stations and carrying an average of 1.5 million passengers daily over its 142 km of track. A new line linking the Capital International Airport with the downtown will open at the end of the month.

(Xinhua News Agency June 17, 2008)