Published on ShanghaiDaily.com (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/)
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200812/20081214/article_384447.htm
Beijing metro disrupted
Created: 2008-12-14
SERVICE of the airport express subway in Beijing stopped temporarily yesterday when a maintenance vehicle accidentally blocked the line.
The vehicle, used for daily rail inspections, broke down on the tracks around midnight on Friday. Scheduled trains have already stopped at that time and are scheduled to start service again at 6am.
The subway company, however, didn't get the vehicle repaired until 3:40pm on Saturday.
The Beijing Municipal Transportation Bureau mobilized more than 50 buses and a certain number of taxis to take passengers from Dongzhimen Metro Station to the airport.
Posters were put up in metro stations and a warning was broadcast to passengers to use other transport to get to the airport. The express line carries an estimated 16,000 to 22,000 people a day.
It opened last July, cutting travel time from Dongzhimen to the Beijing Capital Airport to just 16 minutes, half of the time it takes by shuttle bus. The reason for the breakdown is not yet known.
The vehicle, used for daily rail inspections, broke down on the tracks around midnight on Friday. Scheduled trains have already stopped at that time and are scheduled to start service again at 6am.
The subway company, however, didn't get the vehicle repaired until 3:40pm on Saturday.
The Beijing Municipal Transportation Bureau mobilized more than 50 buses and a certain number of taxis to take passengers from Dongzhimen Metro Station to the airport.
Posters were put up in metro stations and a warning was broadcast to passengers to use other transport to get to the airport. The express line carries an estimated 16,000 to 22,000 people a day.
It opened last July, cutting travel time from Dongzhimen to the Beijing Capital Airport to just 16 minutes, half of the time it takes by shuttle bus. The reason for the breakdown is not yet known.
Xinhua
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