Beijing Suburban Railway or BCR (Beijing City Railways) is a commuter rail service that connects urban Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

 with outlying districts and counties beyond the reach of the city's Beijing Subway

Beijing Subway

The Beijing Subway is a rapid transit rail network that serves the urban and suburban districts of Beijing municipality. It is owned by the city of Beijing and has two operators, the wholly state owned Beijing Mass Transit Railway Operation Corp., which operates 12 lines, and the Beijing MTR...

 network. The "S"-numbered suburban rail lines are managed by the Beijing Railway Bureau

Beijing Railway Bureau

Beijing Railway Bureau is a regional railway bureau under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Railway of the People's Republic of China. It supervises the railway network within Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Provinces. The Beijing Railway Bureau also operates and supervises the expansion of the Beijing...

, an agency of the Ministry of Railways

Ministry of Railways of the People's Republic of China

The Ministry of Railways of the People's Republic of China is a member of the State Council of the People's Republic of China...

 that is not affiliated with the Beijing Mass Transit Railway Operation Corp., Ltd

Beijing Mass Transit Railway Operation Corporation Limited

Beijing Mass Transit Railway Operation Corporation Limited formerly known as the Beijing Municipal Subway Company , is the Beijing city-owned company that operates 8 lines of the Beijing Subway. Like many Chinese state-owned companies, it is managed by a chief executive and overseen by a board of...

, the municipal company that operates the subway. Hence, the S-Lines run on separate tracks and stations and have a different fare schedule from the subway. There is only one suburban railway line currently in operation, the S2

S2 Line, Beijing Suburban Railway

-Phase I:Line S2 is the first line of the Beijing Suburban Railway to begin operation. Opened on August 6 of 2008, it runs from the Beijing North Railway Station, near Xizhimen, to Badaling in Yanqing County, following the old Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, and provides faster, more frequent and...

. A total of six S-lines are planned to be built by 2020.

S-Line in operation

The S2 Line

S2 Line, Beijing Suburban Railway

-Phase I:Line S2 is the first line of the Beijing Suburban Railway to begin operation. Opened on August 6 of 2008, it runs from the Beijing North Railway Station, near Xizhimen, to Badaling in Yanqing County, following the old Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway, and provides faster, more frequent and...

, which runs from Beijing North Railway Station

Beijing North Railway Station

Beijing North Railway Station , formerly known as Xizhimen Railway Station , is a railway station in Beijing, China. It was built in 1905 as one of the original stations on the Jingzhang Railway, now part of the old Beijing-Baotou Line....

 to Yanqing County

Yanqing County

Yanqing County is a subdivision of the municipality of Beijing located northwest of the city proper of Beijing...

 was the first S-line to enter into operation. It opened on August 6, 2008.

line		area served	route description	length (km)	status
	Line S2	northwest suburbs	From Beijing North Station Beijing North Railway Station Beijing North Railway Station , formerly known as Xizhimen Railway Station , is a railway station in Beijing, China. It was built in 1905 as one of the original stations on the Jingzhang Railway, now part of the old Beijing-Baotou Line....  at Xizhimen to Yanqing County Yanqing County Yanqing County is a subdivision of the municipality of Beijing located northwest of the city proper of Beijing...  via Shahe, Nankou, Badaling Badaling Badaling is the site of the most visited section of the Great Wall of China, approximately northwest of urban Beijing city in Yanqing County, which is within the Beijing municipality. The portion of the wall running through the site was built during the Ming Dynasty, along with a military... .	86	opened Aug. 6, 2008

S-Lines under planning

The S1 Line, also known as the Mentougou Line , currently in the advanced planning stages, will run from Mentougou District

Mentougou District

Mentougou District is in west Beijing.Spanning 1,321 square kilometres, with 266,591 inhabitants , it is subdivided into 4 subdistricts of the city proper of Beijing and 9 towns ....

 west of the city to Pingguoyuan, the western termini of Line 1

Line 1, Beijing Subway

Line 1 of the Beijing Subway is the longest, oldest and busiest line of Beijing's mass transit rail network. It runs underneath Chang'an Avenue, the city's grand east-west thoroughfare, right through the heart of Beijing with stops on either side of Tiananmen Square...

 and Line 6

Line 6, Beijing Subway

Line 6 of the Beijing Subway is currently under construction and is scheduled to be opened in December 28, 2012. The line will run parallel to and north of Line 1 and the Batong Line, from Shijingshan to Tongzhou District. It may be the first of Beijing's subway lines to feature express and local...

 of the Beijing Subway

Beijing Subway

The Beijing Subway is a rapid transit rail network that serves the urban and suburban districts of Beijing municipality. It is owned by the city of Beijing and has two operators, the wholly state owned Beijing Mass Transit Railway Operation Corp., which operates 12 lines, and the Beijing MTR...

. Construction was originally expected to begin in 2009, but was delayed to February 2011.

On August 10th 2009, the Beijing Municipal Railway Transport Construction Management Company announced that the Mentougou Line would be completed as a low-speed Maglev line, operating fully Chinese-made sets. Its maximum speed will be 160km/h. The expected date for the start of trial operations is 2015. Construction of the line began on 28 February 2011.

According to plans as of August 2008, there will be six S-Lines by 2020 with a total length of 360 km that will span from the city centre to Mentougou, Miyun, Pinggu, Shunyi, Huangcun, and Fangshan

Fangshan

Fangshan may refer to the following places in mainland China or Taiwan:*Fangshan County , of Lüliang, Shanxi*Fangshan District , Beijing*Fangshan, Pingtung , township in Pingtung County, TaiwanTowns...

. See planning maphttp://www.cyol.net/metrotravel/content/2007-12/11/content_1990158.htm.

line		area served	route description	length (km)	status
	S1 Mentougou Line	western suburbs	From Wulu in Haidian District west to Mentougou District Mentougou District Mentougou District is in west Beijing.Spanning 1,321 square kilometres, with 266,591 inhabitants , it is subdivided into 4 subdistricts of the city proper of Beijing and 9 towns .... , via Tiancun, Shijingshan Shijingshan District Shijingshan District is an urban district of the municipality of Beijing. It lies to the west of the urban core of Beijing, and is part of the Western Hills area...	27	const. began in Feb 2011
	Line S3	northeast suburbs	From Beijing South Station Beijing south railway station The current Beijing South Railway Station is a large railway station on the south side of Beijing that opened on August 1, 2008. The new station replaced the old Beijing South Station, first known as the Majiapu Railway Station and later known as the Yongdingmen Railway Station before 1988, which...  to Miyun County Miyun County Miyun County is situated at northeast Beijing. It has an area of 2,227 square kilometers and a population of 420,019...  via Beijing East Railway Station Beijing east railway station Beijing East Railway Station is a railway station in Beijing. The station is located near Sihui.- Schedules :There are 7 passenger trains stop at the station every day:Note: Updated in May 2006, the train schedule will change on April 18, 2007.... , Shunyi Shunyi District Shunyi District is an administrative district of Beijing, located outside of the city proper.-Overview:... , Huairou Huairou District Huairou District is situated at northern Beijing. Huairou District, covering an area of 2,557.3 square kilometers, is divided into 2 subdistricts of the city of Huairou, 12 towns and 2 ethnic rural townships with a population of 296,002... .	100	planning
	Line S3 (Branch)	Pinggu County	Branches from S3 Line at Renhe Township in Shunyi District Shunyi District Shunyi District is an administrative district of Beijing, located outside of the city proper.-Overview:...  to Jinhai Lake in Pinggu County.	60	planning
	Line S4	southern suburbs	From Beijing South Station Beijing south railway station The current Beijing South Railway Station is a large railway station on the south side of Beijing that opened on August 1, 2008. The new station replaced the old Beijing South Station, first known as the Majiapu Railway Station and later known as the Yongdingmen Railway Station before 1988, which...  to Huangcun in Daxing District Daxing District Daxing District is a suburb of Beijing, situated to the south of the city.-Overview:...  via Caoqiao and Huangtugang.	23	planning
	Line S5	southwest suburbs	From Beijing South Station Beijing south railway station The current Beijing South Railway Station is a large railway station on the south side of Beijing that opened on August 1, 2008. The new station replaced the old Beijing South Station, first known as the Majiapu Railway Station and later known as the Yongdingmen Railway Station before 1988, which...  to Zhoukoudian Zhoukoudian Zhoukoudian or Choukoutien is a cave system in Beijing, China. It has yielded many archaeological discoveries, including one of the first specimens of Homo erectus, dubbed Peking Man, and a fine assemblage of bones of the gigantic hyena Pachycrocuta brevirostris...  in Fangshan District Fangshan District Fangshan District is situated in the southwest of Beijing, 38 km away from the downtown Beijing. It has an area of 2,019 square kilometers and a population of 814,367...  via Fengtai Fengtai District Fengtai District is a suburban district of the municipality of Beijing. It lies to the southwest of the urban core of the city.-History:In Qing Dynasty times, Fengtai was where the Imperial Manchu Army had its camps, trained, and held parades on festive occasions.It is 304.2 square kilometers in... , Changxindian, and Liangxiang.	64	planning
	Line S6	southern and eastern suburbs	11 suburban townships including Yizhuang, Tongzhou and Shunyi.	100+	planning