Metro, stores and offices hit by power cut
By Ni Yinbin, Zha Minjie and Zhao Wen |
March 11, 2011, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A POWER failure hit downtown Shanghai yesterday afternoon, forcing thousands of Metro passengers to evacuate stranded trains and briefly plunging department stores and offices into darkness.
Metro officials said the breakdown was caused by power being cut after fire broke out in a downtown cable trench. Services were restored within an hour.
At 1:08pm power was suddenly lost in several Metro Line 2 stations. Stops between Lujiazui and Zhongshan Park stations were affected.
Thousands of Metro passengers were stranded after their trains were stuck in tunnels and stations and had to be evacuated.
"I have never seen anything like this before," said a Metro staff member, surnamed Li, on the platform of Line 2's People's Square station.
Li, who has worked on the Metro for eight years, was about to begin his afternoon shift when the drama began.
Under emergency lighting, more than 2,000 people at People's Square were guided into daylight by Metro staff and police. Li said the evacuation was conducted "without much noise" and no panic.
Some passengers stranded in trains vented their frustrations by punching train doors.
At Nanjing Road W. station, passengers queued to get ticket refunds and letters of apology from the Metro operator. "I'm late for my work and need this to prove it was not my fault," said Li Xinjie, who had boarded a train at Xujingdong Station.
The knock-on effect continued until about 1:45pm.
The cause of the power cut was a fire in 200,000-volt cable pit at the intersection of Huaihai Road and Huashan Road in Xuhui District, said the Shanghai Electric Power Co, the city's power supplier.
Fire broke out while staff were repairing a cable, said the company. No one was injured and the blaze was quickly extinguished. The cause of the fire was still unclear last night.
The company said electricity through the cables was cut for safety reasons, leading to the loss of power. Repair work should be complete today.
Also affected were malls in Jing'an District, with brief blackouts in Plaza 66, CITIC Square, Westgate Mall and other stores on Nanjing Road W.
Feng Li, a guide at Westgate Mall ground floor, said the blackout occurred at around 1:15pm, lasting about 10 minutes. "The lights went out suddenly. However, there weren't many customers in the mall at the time," Feng said.
Office buildings were also affected, including Shanghai Wenhui-Xinmin United Press Group on Weihai Road, where Shanghai Daily is based.
Metro officials said the breakdown was caused by power being cut after fire broke out in a downtown cable trench. Services were restored within an hour.
At 1:08pm power was suddenly lost in several Metro Line 2 stations. Stops between Lujiazui and Zhongshan Park stations were affected.
Thousands of Metro passengers were stranded after their trains were stuck in tunnels and stations and had to be evacuated.
"I have never seen anything like this before," said a Metro staff member, surnamed Li, on the platform of Line 2's People's Square station.
Li, who has worked on the Metro for eight years, was about to begin his afternoon shift when the drama began.
Under emergency lighting, more than 2,000 people at People's Square were guided into daylight by Metro staff and police. Li said the evacuation was conducted "without much noise" and no panic.
Some passengers stranded in trains vented their frustrations by punching train doors.
At Nanjing Road W. station, passengers queued to get ticket refunds and letters of apology from the Metro operator. "I'm late for my work and need this to prove it was not my fault," said Li Xinjie, who had boarded a train at Xujingdong Station.
The knock-on effect continued until about 1:45pm.
The cause of the power cut was a fire in 200,000-volt cable pit at the intersection of Huaihai Road and Huashan Road in Xuhui District, said the Shanghai Electric Power Co, the city's power supplier.
Fire broke out while staff were repairing a cable, said the company. No one was injured and the blaze was quickly extinguished. The cause of the fire was still unclear last night.
The company said electricity through the cables was cut for safety reasons, leading to the loss of power. Repair work should be complete today.
Also affected were malls in Jing'an District, with brief blackouts in Plaza 66, CITIC Square, Westgate Mall and other stores on Nanjing Road W.
Feng Li, a guide at Westgate Mall ground floor, said the blackout occurred at around 1:15pm, lasting about 10 minutes. "The lights went out suddenly. However, there weren't many customers in the mall at the time," Feng said.
Office buildings were also affected, including Shanghai Wenhui-Xinmin United Press Group on Weihai Road, where Shanghai Daily is based.
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