Subway riders abandon stranded train

Metro employees stop passengers from entering Caoyang Road Station after a power outage temporarily shut down part of lines 3 and 4 Thursday morning. Photo: Yang Hui/GT

Subway passengers opened the emergency exit on a metro Line 4 train and climbed down onto the elevated tracks Thursday morning after spending more than 30 minutes stranded between Zhenping Road and Caoyang Road stations due to a power outage.

The passengers' escape from the stranded train kept the metro operator from resuming service between Shanghai Railway Station and Zhongshan Park Station for another 30 minutes during morning rush hour, said Lan Tian, a press officer with the Shanghai Shentong Metro Group.

The passengers broke metro rules when they opened the emergency exit, Lan told the Global Times. Stranded passengers may get anxious and might even panic while stranded onboard a train for a long time, but they are not supposed to open the emergency exits except under life-threatening circumstances.

It is very dangerous for passengers to walk along the track, Lan said.

Trains on the shared track of lines 3 and 4 ground to a halt after a 10-square-meter metal board fell onto the metro's power lines between Caoyang Road Station and Jinshajiang Road Station, said Yuan Sixiang, a press officer for the Shanghai No.3 Metro Operation Co.

The power outage stopped all southbound and westbound trains between Shanghai Railway Station and Zhongshan Park Station. Trains heading in the opposite direction ran at longer intervals and slower speeds than usual.

According to a station director surnamed Shi at Caoyang Road Station, the outage first prevented a Line 3 train from continuing after it stopped at the station around 8:20 am. Then, a Line 4 train was forced to stop on its way to the station, leaving its passengers stranded, Shi said.

The metro operator posted a notice on its microblog at 8:24 am advising passengers on the Line 4 train that they would have to wait at least 15 minutes for service to resume. At 8:41 am, it posted another notice that said passengers would have to wait 15 more minutes.

Caoyang Road Station shut down all of its turnstiles so that passengers could only exit the station. Police officers helped evacuate the trains, Shi told the Global Times.

The metro operator takes measures to keep passengers calm when trains get stranded, Lan said. The trains have backup power supplies that allows the lights, ventilation system and air conditioning to keep running.

It broadcasts messages over the train's public address system to keep passengers informed about the situation, Lan said. There is also an emergency call button that allows them to speak with the train's driver.

Lan said it is unusual for a train to end up stranded for more than one hour.

The metro operator said at a press conference Thursday that the problem was solved at 9:08 am, according to a report on the news website xinmin.cn.

Police were still investigating Thursday what caused the steel board to fall on the power lines.