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Beijing subway glitch raises safety concerns
Print Edition
A TECHNICAL glitch that disrupted passengers on the subway in Beijing for nearly two hours yesterday morning has raised questions about safety and the operator’s abilities to tackle emergencies.
Subway Line 4, a major underground service that runs 50 kilometers through western Beijing from north to south, suspended its operation after a signal failure at 7:22am.
It is one of the busiest subway lines in the nation’s capital and carries more than one million people every day since it went into operation in 2009.
The disruption forced commuters to use buses and taxis, leading to severe traffic congestion on major roads.
Following the disruption, the Beijing Public Transport Holdings Ltd, an operator of ground transportation in the capital, pressed 130 buses into service to ferry passengers who were affected by the Line 4 glitch. But it was not enough to handle all the passengers.
Beijing MTR Corporation Ltd, the line’s operator, said services resumed around 9:10am. “I had to transfer on three subway lines to reach downtown,” said Yan Yu, a student at Tsinghua University. “The disruption delayed me for over 40 minutes.”
Signal failure can cause major problems for subway commuters. The signal monitoring system is widely used in the rail network to monitor intervals between trains to ensure they travel at a safe distance.
Beijing MTR said it has technicians traveling on trains and monitoring equipment to ensure proper function.
While yesterday’s signal problem held up passengers for two hours, a similar problem that happened in Shanghai two years ago led to a collision of two subway trains.
In addition to delays, the signal failure on Beijing’s Subway Line 4 also impacted other lines in the city. Passageways connecting Line 4 to other lines were closed.
Also, train intervals on other lines were extended and carriages stayed less time at stations as operators tried to limit the number of passengers boarding an already packed coaches.
Beijing currently runs 14 subway lines carrying more than 8.5 million passengers on an average day, according to the Beijing Subway Company.
The subway failure comes at a time when Beijing is mulling new measures to combat traffic congestion and air pollution. The subway has become the main option for citizens as authorities limit the number of vehicles on roads. Across China, cities are building subway networks as a solution to worsening traffic gridlock.
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