Beijing's subway system carried more than 68 million passengers from Aug. 8 to 24, said the Beijing Subway Operation Co. Ltd. on Wednesday.

The company said more than 70,000 trains ran during the Olympics, more than double the number for the same period before the Games. The punctuality rate averaged 99.8 percent, slightly up on the pre-Olympics level of 99 percent.

The passenger volume peaked on Aug. 22 when a record 4.92 million people traveled on the city's eight lines, including the three lines that opened in July.

Beijing recorded 6.52 million tourist arrivals during the Games. To meet demand, operating hours were extended by up to three hours from the original closing time of around 11 p.m. and the intervals between trains reduced to 2.5 minutes from the average 5 minutes. On Aug. 8 and 24, the subway company had all the lines operating round the clock.

Line 10, which carried 9.6 million passengers, and the Olympic Branch Line, which carried 3.5 million, were the busiest. The two lines, together with the Airport Line, opened on July 19.

In the first half of this year, the system carried 550 million passengers, up 101 percent from the same period last year.

(Xinhua News Agency August 28, 2008)