Beijing - The opening of three new subway lines in the Chinese capital has been delayed ahead of the start of the Beijing Olympics next month, construction officials confirmed Wednesday.

The Olympic Line, which is expected to ferry hundreds of thousands of visitors to and from the sporting venues, will not open until mid- July, several weeks later than planned.

The company responsible for the construction blamed the delay on a lack of clarity about fares on the new airport rail link.

Because all three subway lines are to open simultaneously, Lines 8 and 10 will not be running before the middle of the month.

Beijing had been praised for getting its Games infrastructure and sporting venues ready in time for the start of the two-week extravaganza on August 8.

The new subway lines are one of the most important infrastructure elements and are expected to carry up to 5 million people a day during the Games.

Visitors to the Olympics will be able to use their tickets to travel free on some rail and bus routes. (dpa)