Construction of a new subway line will start next month in Beijing to help ease traffic in the Chinese capital.

The No.16 Line, which will link the Yongfeng high-tech industrial base in the north with Lugouqiao town in the south, will pass through downtown Beijing. It is expected to be put into operation by the end of 2016, the Beijing City Subway Construction Management Company announced Sunday.

The line with 24 stations, including 11 transfer stations, will be 36 km long. It will cost about 36 billion yuan ($5.78 billion), according to the company.

Beijing added four new lines to its operation on December 30, 2012, bringing its track length to 442 km, the country's longest.

The city's subway system is expected to carry approximately 10 million passengers daily this year, surpassing the world's busiest subway in Moscow, which transports 9 million passengers each day, according to statistics from Beijing's transportation department.

By 2015, the number of subway lines in Beijing will reach 19, with a combined length of 561 km. By 2020, the total subway length is expected to increase to 1,000 km.

(Xinhua News Agency February 18, 2013)