New | Breakdowns plaguing Beijing subway this year, report says
MTR Corp operates one of the lines that had latest morning service interruptions, causing large numbers of passengers to be late for work
The Beijing metro system is averaging a breakdown a week – a total of 39 – so far this year, mainland media reports.
The latest breakdown occurred on August 26, which was actually breakdowns on two lines – Line 4 and the “Batong” extension of Line 1, which serves the suburb of Tongzhou, where popular residential complexes are located. Trains on both lines suddenly stopped during the morning rush hour, making a large number of passengers late for work, Beijing Youth Daily reported.
The Beijing Mass Transit Railway Operation Corporation (BMTROC) and the MTR Corporation, Hong Kong’s subway operator, released “emergency operating notice” to report on the breakdowns. The MTR Corporation is part of a joint venture that operates Line 4.
There have been 46 emergency operating notices issued by the two subway operators this year. Besides the 39 breakdowns, there have been six cases when passengers fell off the platform and once when a construction operation caused service to be suspended.
BMTROC officials said most breakdowns occur because of problems with power supply equipment or line equipment, electromechanical and communications signal equipment.
“The communications signal system experiences troubles often,” said Gu Qingyi, the director of BMTROC’s equipment department.
