An automatic subway ticket system will be fully put into use in the Chinese capital as of 2007, Beijing Subway Operation Co. said Friday.

The operator of Beijing's subway system said that automation machines for subway cards are under installment on the No. 1 and No. 2 subway routes to do away with paper tickets in the future.

Launched in August 2004 with an investment of 3.7 billion yuan (US$474 million), the project has been undertaken between 0:30 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. every day without interrupting normal subway operation.

The change in subway admission system is only one step being taken by the government to upgrade the city's public transportation to cope with the huge crowds during the 2008 Olympic Games.

So far, Beijing has 54 km of subway and plans to build another 140 km in the near future.

(Xinhua News Agency December 24, 2005)