Faulty power line causes blackout
- Source: Global Times
- [11:03 March 11 2011]
- Comments
With the escalator down due to a temporary blackout Thursday afternoon, passengers take the stairs at People's Square station along the Line 2 subway. Photo: Cai Xianmin
By Li Mao and Zhu Jialei
A faulty 200,000-volt power line in Xuhui district Thursday afternoon caused a blackout at five stations along the Line 2 subway, which left thousands of passengers stranded in the dark for at least 20 minutes.
The power line beneath Huaihai Road West gave out at 1:08 pm Thursday, throwing subway stations from Jing'an Temple to Lujiazui into a sea of black. Office buildings near Nanjing Road West were also affected, the Shanghai Power Company said Thursday.
According to the power company, power was restored within 20 minutes. But operations at the affected subway stations did not return to normal until 1:48 pm, according to the city's subway operator Shentong Metro Group.
A woman surnamed Wang, who was trapped at People's Square station around 1:20 pm Thursday, said the whole ordeal was a living nightmare.
"All of a sudden the train stopped and all the lights went out," she told the Global Times Thursday. "We were in complete darkness and we were stuck like that for 20 minutes."
After that the lights flickered on and off for some time, and when the power resumed the doors finally opened and everyone rushed out, she said.
"I was so glad to get out of there," she said. "It was scary."
Shentong Metro Group apologized for the inconvenience Thursday, but made it clear that the incident was in no way the subway operator's fault, two days after passengers on the same line were delayed due to a train that broke down during the evening rush hour.