An unusual film version of the Monkey King is playing in
Shanghai's metro stations, teaching passengers how they should
react to emergencies in the subway.
It is just one part of the city's stepped-up efforts to educate
people?in proper safety measures in the metro, a need brought
into sharp focus by a series of terrorist attacks on the London
Underground.
And education is not only for passengers, officials said, with
rail transport staff also undergoing training.
Rail transport management authorities have recently required
that the city's rail transport operation companies provide staff
with anti-terrorism training to enhance their capability in
handling emergencies.
It also asks the companies to pay more attention to patrolling
tunnels and key stations and checking various facilities for
explosives and combustibles.
The companies are also required to conduct training drills to
ensure a free flow of information related to terrorism
prevention.
An official from the city authorities, surnamed Wang, said the
terrorism prevention measures were being kept low key so as not to
cause a general panic.
In a separate development, an across-the-board revamp of the
city's rail transport emergency and disaster treatment program was
enacted last month. The revised program covers all major
emergencies such as fire, explosion, poisoning and traffic
overloading, Shanghai Youth Daily reported.
In February, the city conducted a drill at the Pengpu Xincun
Station on Line One to evacuate passengers and control ground
traffic.
Due to recent heat waves, the city's rail transport system is
overloaded with a record high number of passengers, the metro lines
alone carrying more than 1.5 million people a day.
Shanghai plans to build 17 rail transport lines covering the
whole city and extending to a total of 780 kilometers.
(China Daily July 23, 2005)