Multi‑storey Parking | The first multi‑storey parking facility in the Beijing South Railway Station area will complete its main structure by the end of November.

At a press conference on the “Second Round of Comprehensive Transportation Improvement in Beijing’s Railway Station Area,” convened by the Management Committee of Beijing’s Key Station District, reporters learned that since the beginning of this year, the railway station area has implemented measures across eight key areas—including facility optimization, parking management, and passenger‑drop‑off services—to ease traffic congestion and enhance refined governance and service standards. Currently, all initiatives are advancing steadily, with some already yielding positive results in public services and providing greater convenience for travelers.

　　Parking management has long been a persistent challenge in the areas surrounding railway stations. According to a responsible official from the Beijing South Railway Station Area Management Committee, to alleviate parking congestion at Beijing South Station, a five‑story, multi‑level parking facility with nearly 400 spaces is currently under construction on the east side of Kaiyang Road. The main structure is expected to be completed by the end of November. This will be the first multi‑level parking garage in the Beijing South Station area; once finished, commuters will no longer need to enter the underground parking lot—instead, they can park in the above‑ground garage and access the station directly from the north plaza. In addition, the parking structure will serve as a reserve parking area for taxis, helping to address any shortages of available cabs within the station.

　　According to reports, in terms of parking management, this comprehensive transportation overhaul at Beijing West Station and Beijing South Station has taken a meticulous approach by relocating the barrier gates at the entrances of four underground parking lots underground, thereby alleviating congestion caused by vehicle queues and bottlenecks in the entrance areas.

　　Notably, at the underground parking lot of Beijing South Railway Station, Shouqi Chauffeur has implemented a free‑parking policy from 10:30 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. the following day, bolstering transport capacity and enabling designated‑point management for vehicle entry and exit. Meanwhile, the Beijing West Railway Station area offers free nighttime parking in select lots to licensed ride-hailing vehicles, increasing vehicle availability to meet demand during peak hours. For example, additional waiting areas for ride-hailing cars have been set up in Parking Lot P2 on the North Plaza and in the passenger‑drop-off zone along Guanglian Road on the South Plaza. From 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. daily, Parking Lots P1 and P3 provide four hours of free parking for licensed ride-hailing vehicles, encouraging nighttime operations in the area and further expanding vehicle supply.

　　According to a relevant official from the Municipal Public Security Traffic Management Bureau, they have now collaborated with the West Railway Station Management Committee to establish temporary drop-off zones on both sides of the south entrance of Yangfangdian Road, painted blue pavement markings, and installed additional directional signs and ground markings. These measures have helped standardize vehicle traffic patterns and temporary parking for drop-off vehicles, effectively alleviating traffic congestion at the north plaza of Beijing West Railway Station caused by illegal parking.

　　To regulate pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic—particularly around railway stations, where mixed‑mode travel is common—various types of road barriers have long been employed as a means of maintaining orderly movement. However, the installation of such barriers can also give rise to certain unintended side effects for travelers.

　　Following the launch of the second round of comprehensive traffic improvement in Beijing’s railway station areas, facility optimization has emerged as one of the measures to alleviate congestion. According to officials, while ensuring orderly traffic flow and pedestrian safety, authorities have further reduced the number of barriers and other infrastructure elements to enhance road capacity. At stations including Beijing Railway Station, Beijing West Railway Station, and Beijing South Railway Station, barrier installations in non-core zones have been scaled back, illegal‑parking markings have been painted, and parking management has been strengthened.

　　During the remediation period, 2,080 meters of motor vehicle barriers and 1,107 meters of non-motorized vehicle barriers have been removed outside Beijing Railway Station. At Beijing South Railway Station, 249 barrier panels were dismantled from the south plaza, and 17 panels on the north plaza were removed and replaced. In the Beijing West Railway Station area, with a total of 6,300 linear meters of existing barriers, 424 linear meters have already been reduced or removed, and further adjustments to non-essential barriers are expected by the end of August.

　　The guardrails have helped maintain traffic order without causing confusion, while the deployment of high-definition surveillance systems and big-data‑based technological measures has ensured smooth traffic flow. For example, in the Beijing Railway Station area, enforcement efforts have been stepped up through non‑in‑person means: all 32 smart parking‑violation capture systems are operating normally, and three display screens provide real-time notices of illegal parking. At Beijing South Railway Station, additional traffic‑violation cameras will be installed at the east and west drop‑off zones, with plans to add 17 new locations equipped with 34 video cameras. These systems will automatically photograph vehicles entering the time‑limited departure zone that remain parked for more than five minutes, flagging such violations for inclusion in the traffic‑violation database and enabling targeted enforcement against illegal and disorderly parking.

　　In terms of mutual security‑check recognition, Beijing West Station and Qinghe Station have both implemented two‑way mutual recognition, meaning that passengers transferring between rail and subway need only undergo one security check. This has reduced queuing and travel times, effectively mitigating the risk of large crowds at station entrances. Currently, the Beijing West Station area is planning to convert its temporary mutual‑recognition security‑check facilities into permanent ones. Beijing South Station is already equipped to support two‑way security‑check recognition, and for any newly built railway stations opening in the future, mutual security‑check recognition will be studied as a key measure to ensure smooth passenger flow.

　　Additionally, it is understood that the Beijing Railway Station area plans to install electronic display screens at the exit to provide real-time information on taxi queue lengths; the project is currently under review by the Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology. Both Beijing West Railway Station and the Beijing Railway Station area are exploring the feasibility of implementing differentiated parking fees. At present, Beijing West Railway Station is developing a tiered pricing policy that charges higher rates during peak hours and closer to the station, while offering lower rates during off-peak periods and farther from the station, in order to better manage vehicle flow, improve overall parking‑lot utilization, and alleviate congestion caused by concentrated queuing. Meanwhile, the Beijing Railway Station area is coordinating with local parking operators to study and pilot approaches for applying differentiated parking charges during peak periods.