Alerted by a string of minor accidents that delayed thousands of local commuters, subway operators in Shanghai said yesterday that they will strengthen their inspections of rail transportation facilities.

They also called on local passengers to mind their manners. They said most don't queue up to get into the train, leading to chaos and unnecessary clashes during rush hours.

"We'll have a check on all of our trains," said an official surnamed Yin with the Shanghai Metro Operation Co Ltd, the operator of the existing three metro lines.

"As the National Day holiday is coming, we want to make sure that people taking trains will experience quick and smooth trips."

But that was not exactly what commuters experienced in the past couple of days.

Yesterday morning, a metro train broke down at Jinjiang Station on RT No 1. Technicians found a minor technical problem and fixed it quickly. However, it happened during the morning rush hour, making many late for work.

On Thursday evening, a metro train running northward on RT No 3 got stuck due to an unidentified object falling on the track. The company had to subsidize 20 yuan (US$2.42) each to about 100 passengers as taxi fee.

On the same day, a man, 45, leaped onto the track at a metro station along RT No 1 when he saw a train coming. Fortunately, the driver spotted the man and stopped the train and the man was not injured.

The incident caused the collapse of the system for about 30 minutes.

Metro officials said they were working on the issue, gearing up efforts on maintenance and gathering its technicians to discuss on how to improve the safety level of the system.

Among various issues, the operator is debating on whether to install safety barriers at each metro stop.

At the Hengshan Road Station on RT No 1, the company has been setting up and testing the first floor-to-ceiling barriers to keep passengers and foreign objects from falling off platforms.

"It will be too expensive to adopt technologies and facilities imported from foreign countries," said Qiu Zhelei, an official of the Metro Operation.

He said it will cost more than 10 million yuan (US$1.2 million) if the city adopts barriers at each station. Shanghai now has 48 stations on the existing three lines.

Also yesterday, the operator launched a one-week publicity campaign on commuters "manners."

(eastday.com September 27, 2003)