Shanghai's metro and train stations are now required to be
equipped with cameras and other security inspection systems on the
orders of the local security watchdog.
The new regulation is part of a general effort to standardize
security systems in important public places. It includes detailed
instructions on how the security facilities should be installed in
the city's metro network.
For example, color cameras should be installed in metro stations
to cover entrances, ticket sales windows, stairways, escalators and
waiting halls. Metro trains should also be equipped with color
cameras to record any "unusual happenings" inside the trains.
Most management and control rooms at metro stations are to be
equipped with burglar alarms, as are trains and locomotives.
Metro stations will be equipped sensors to detect radioactive
elements, poisonous gas, flammable and explosive chemical
substances, guns, ammunition and other explosive devices.
The regulations also stipulate that cameras installed in and
outside metro stations should be able to clearly record people's
movements within the inspection area. Human face recognition
devices should also be set up in the metro control office.
"The goal of the new security standard is to ensure urban safety
and to prevent terrorism," said a source surnamed Ni from the
Shanghai municipal bureau of quality and technical supervision
(SMBQTS).
Ni said subways are actually a special kind of public area
because most of them are underground and relatively closed, but
still must accommodate large flows of people, especially in a
populous city like Shanghai.
"Shanghai should be the first city in China to issue such a
detailed standard concerning metro security installations. So far,
China has no national standards especially pertinent to this
issue," she told China Daily.
Liu Xiaoxin, an official with the inner security department of
the municipal public security bureau, which drafted the new
standards, said the equipment to be used will be close to the level
used in some developed countries.
"Although there have been no terror attacks in Shanghai's metro
stations, appropriate security inspection facilities are necessary
to protect the safety of the many passengers riding the metro every
day," said Liu.
His department began preparing the draft of the standard two
years ago.
Liu said a few cases involving public security issues and crime
have occurred at local subways. In January, a passenger
accidentally pulled the emergency brake on a running metro train,
which shut down the whole line for more than 20 minutes.
" If any attacks occurred in the subways, having a security
inspection system will help us pinpoint criminals. Such systems
will help protect passengers and reduce the possibility of damage,"
said Liu.
The standards will take effect on September 1. The SMBQTS said
they would be applicable to all new metro stations added to the
system. Those existing metro stations and operating trains will be
upgraded to meet the standard, said Ni.
Shanghai Shengtong Metro Corporation, which operates the city's
metro system, said the company will conform to the standards and
would also draw up a renovation schedule for the existing metro
stations and trains.
"The security technology is already available for use. What we
need to do now is implement the standards effectively," said
Liu.
(China Daily May 16, 2007)