Beijing has strengthened safety procedures on the city's subway network in the wake of a fatal train crash in east China, the Beijing Times reported Monday.
After the train crash in east China on July 23, the State Council has required local governments to strengthen procedures to ensure transportation networks are running safely.
The capital's deputy mayor, Gou Zhongwen, stressed in an emergency meeting on the issue of safety that the city should strictly carry out the four requirements for safe subway operation: Carriages should not be overloaded, platforms not overcrowded, passages not over-congested, and escalators not operating at full capacity.
Measures should be strengthened to prevent a rear-end collision, as occurred in July 23's train crash, from happening on the city’s subway lines, said the deputy mayor at the meeting.
Statistics published on Friday by Beijing Subway, the operator of 12 subway lines, showed more than 6.2 million journeys were made on its 12 lines on July 15, 2011, creating a new record. Presently, the subway’s passenger capacity has reached its utmost limit.
The operator has taken measures to secure safe operation, including setting up guardrails outside the subway stations, splitting the passenger flows and allowing trains to skip stations if necessary.
