A first-generation subway train pulls to the platform at a station on Line 1 Monday. The last 19 such trains, 40 years old, will soon be out of service, making way for air-conditioned, more energy efficient ones. (Photo: Guo Yingguang/GT)
Beijing subway will replace all their outdated trains and carriages still in operation on Line 1, some of which have been in use for 40 years, Beijing subway operating company confirmed with the Global Times Monday.
"There are currently 19 old subway trains in operation on Subway Line 1, and we are looking at finishing the replacement of all of them by the end of March," said Jia Peng, spokesman for Beijing Subway.
Jia was referring to trains manufactured in the 1970s and installed with fans rather than air-conditioners, commonly called "menguan che," or "airless sardine cans" by local commuters.
"The name describes our exact feelings when we take one, when the huge crowds of passengers are sticky and sweaty because of standing together in those 'cans' with the fans far away blowing hot wind. They should have been long gone," said a woman who commutes every day on Line 1, surnamed Zhao.
According to Beijing Subway's official website, currently there are 70 trains in operation on Line 1. This ensures that there is a maximum interval of two minutes and five seconds between trains during peak commuting hours. This includes 20 new air-conditioned trains, which use alternating current (AC), and 31 direct current trains (DC) which did not previously have air conditioning.
"We modified the 31 to be equipped with air conditioning last May as they are not old enough to retire. But soon Beijing residents will see no 'menguan che' when they commute by subway," noted Jia.
Beijing Subway has said that the switch to AC trains will improve the ease of maintenance, decrease the failure rate, and improve brake performance, according to their website.
Two uniformed subway company employees at Guomao Subway Station said yesterday they were unaware of the replacement of the old trains but said they "frequently saw commuters waiting specifically for the air-conditioned trains in the summer, and complaining about the old trains."
Regular passengers have good reason to be grateful for the upgrade, as the commuting experience in the capital has been no easy ride lately, especially on very hot days.
Last summer, passenger numbers set a new daily record by reaching over 6.2 million on all subway lines, while Line 1 has always accommodated the most, almost 1.6 million commuters in one day, according to statistics released by the subway company.
"I actually don't care much about whether the trains are the latest model or not, as long as they are equipped with air conditioning, and run reliably every day," said Guo Xin, a commuter at Guomao subway station.
In recent months, there have been a number of stoppages on Line 1, causing chaos and delays for thousands of travelers.
Line 1 was completely out of action for 80 minutes on December 22 due to a signal failure, while another breakdown, attributed to insufficient electric supply, stranded passengers for 30 minutes on Line 1 on September 18. Both times, staff evacuated stations, so that hundreds of commuters were forced to wait outside.
However, Beijing Transportation Research Center, a government transportation body, said the series of incidents, in which passengers were forced to wait outside was because of the "outdated technology and unstable performance of those old DC trains," according to their statement about the train replacement on their official website.
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