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Commuter chaos as Line 1 hit by power failure
Print Edition
CHAOS hit the Metro at morning rush hour yesterday after a power failure closed part of Line 1 for almost two hours.
Hundreds of passengers had to be evacuated from a train stuck in a tunnel while tens of thousands of commuters were left scrabbling for buses and taxis, bringing gridlock to roads, as temperatures soared to above 35 degrees Celsius.
Services were first disrupted by what Metro operator Shanghai Shentong called a “power glitch” between Shanghai South Railway Station and Shanghai Indoor Stadium Station at just before 6am.
For an hour, services continued at reduced speed, before a train became stuck underground between Caobao Road Station and Shanghai Indoor Stadium Station at around 7am, Shanghai Shentong said.
After being stranded in the train for 50 minutes, the 315 people on board were led to safety by Metro staff, emerging at Caobao Road Station shortly after 8am.
Completely overwhelmed
At just after 7:45am, Shentong announced that services had earlier been suspended between Jinjiang Park Station and Xujiahui.
Power was lost again during repairs to this section and was not restored until 8:46am, said the operator. Part of the line had been closed for almost two hours.
While the drama was taking place underground, commuters at stations stretching back to the terminus at Xinzhuang trying to get to downtown were milling round outside, trying to get alternative transport or takeother lines.
“We were asked to take Line 3 at Shanghai South Railway Station. The station was completely overwhelmed,” an IT developer, surnamed Yu, who had hoped to catch Line 1 at 7:40am told Shanghai Daily.
The city’s transport commission laid on 110 shuttle buses running between Xinzhuang and Xujiahui, ferrying more than 10,000 passengers. However, they struggled to cope with demand.
Commuters recounted tales of rush-hour misery.
“I was stuck in the heat and humidity inside Xinzhuang Station for 30 minutes as we didn’t know when operations would resume,” said Elain Shen, who was hoping to take Line 1 at 8am to her job in procurement.
“Then police told us to wait outside, where I waited for another hour.
“I tried to take a shuttle or scheduled bus, but couldn’t get on any as they were too crowded. And the roads were really congested.”
Shen told Shanghai Daily that in the end she trudged back to take the subway after hearing that services had resumed.
Another commuter, Chen Li, said she was shocked by the chaos around Xinzhuang Station.
“There were people everywhere, many trying to get a cab using taxi-hailing apps, but it was very difficult,” said financial industry employee Chen.
“I ended up calling my husband, who was driving in the opposite direction, to come and pick me up to catch Line 4.”
Chen and Shen finally arrived at work after 10am — more than an hour late.
A human resources worker, surnamed Han, told Shanghai Daily that nearly half of her colleagues were late yesterday, some arriving two hours after their start time.
Shanghai Shentong offered to provide a “letter of apology” to passengers to explain their late arrival to employers.
The Metro operator said that the incident was caused by a power failure on the overhead contact line system between Shanghai South Railway Station to Caobao Road Station.
The city’s transport commission said an investigation will be launched.
Police said there were traffic jams on major roads in Minhang District, including Zhongchun Road and Humin Road, for almost four hours from 7am.
Metro Line 1 is one of the city’s busiest lines, running through hubs including People’s Square and Xujiahui, railway stations and big residential areas, including Xinzhuang and Meilong.
It connects with many other lines and is used by many residents to travel to downtown.
Figures released this year said Line 1 has carried up to 1.45 million passengers a day.
In 2011, some 220,000 passengers were using the line at morning rush hour.
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