Five new subway lines will open Thursday in Beijing, taking the total number of the lines to 14, the city's subway authorities said Wednesday.

The five new subways lines -- Fangshan Line, Changping Line, the first phase of the No. 15 Line, Yizhuang Line and Daxing Line -- will have a combined length of 108 kilometers, bringing the Chinese national capital's total metro length to 336 km.

Passengers can get aboard trains running along the five news lines as of 2:00 PM Thursday, said an official of Beijing Subway Operation Co. Ltd.

The new lines cost nearly 61 billion yuan (about US$9.2 billion).

Beijing's metro network now hauls 5.02 million passengers daily.

(Xinhua News Agency December 30, 2010)