China steps up emergency response for city rail transport

BEIJING -- The Chinese government published a revised emergency response plan for city rail transport on Thursday as it seeks to beef up security measures in increasingly overcrowded subway stations.

The revision, which was based on a plan last issued in 2005, has expanded emergency response coverage for all city rail transport, including subways, light rails and maglev.

An emergency response will be launched in the event of train collision, derailing, equipment failure or damage and in cases of massive passenger flows, according to the new plan.

Meanwhile, monitoring work on transport equipment, facilities and passenger flows will be stepped up so that preemptive analysis for various risks can be provided. Measures for issuing risk alerts have also been specified under the new plan.

The amended plan also defines rail problems using four grades in terms of severity, with grade 1 representing the most severe disaster.

Cases of passengers falling onto rail tracks from platforms and disrupting traffic have led to rising concern over safety in recent years.