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Beijing’s exploding subway

Washington, D.C. isn’t the only city facing a rash of problems with its subway system these days. A Beijing train went into “Explosion Mode” on Sunday as a piece of scrap metal touched the electrically-charged third rail, setting off “two explosions in the tunnel”: Just about every last soul on the train started — in ...

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584221_090630_subway5.jpg
584221_090630_subway5.jpg
BEIJING - JULY 21: Commuters crowd a subway train on July 21, 2008 in Beijing, China. Many residents switched to the subway after Beijing enforce a traffic ban based on the parity of licence plate numbers to keep vehicles off the roads on alternate days in a bid to ease congestion and improve air quality for next month's Games over the same time frame. (Photo by Guang Niu/Getty Images)

Washington, D.C. isn't the only city facing a rash of problems with its subway system these days.

Washington, D.C. isn’t the only city facing a rash of problems with its subway system these days.

A Beijing train went into “Explosion Mode” on Sunday as a piece of scrap metal touched the electrically-charged third rail, setting off “two explosions in the tunnel”:

Just about every last soul on the train started — in essence — crapping out, totally unable to believe that this kind of trauma was happening. The train had just managed to approach Fuxingmen when a third explosion was reported. At this point, people just got out of the train the moment the doors opened and got the hell out of the station. Smoke was pretty much everywhere.

The state news media didn’t report the story, but it’s probably safe to assume Chinese riders, like their counterparts in the United States, might be avoiding front cars for a while.

GETTY IMAGES

Brian Fung is an editorial researcher at FP.
Tag: China

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