Beijing's new $1.6 billion No 5 Metro subway line halted for 10 and 40 minutes on both directions on Friday because of "technical problems", which the subway company declined to reveal. Some passengers, who rely on the train to go to work, had to switch to buses. The company says the first year of operation is a "shakedown period" in which the line will be constantly improved.

 

Despite a few teething problems, Beijingers have warmly received the new line, which runs north to south through the heart of Beijing. Quite simply, it is fast and cheap and is a major time saver.

 

A ride on any part of the 27.6 kilometer line costs only 2 yuan ($0.25). People are saving hours each day commuting to and from work. The convenience has led to a boom in real estate projects along the line.

 

At 8:46 am last week, a real-estate manager surnamed Wang boarded the subway at Lishuiqiao station, three stops from the northern terminal.

 

"I want to experience the new train before I make up my mind to invest along the line," he says.

 

According to Jin Yusong, vice-general-manager of Lianjian real-estate agent, retail rent along the new metro line has risen up 5 percent since it opened. But this is not as much as Jin had thought. "Many investors predicted the benefit a year ago and got into the market early," Jin explains.

 

Wang suspects that property prices would continue to rise because "the convenience of the new line will attract more people to live close by".

 

As the 80km/h train ran smoothly through tunnels and over bridges, Wang received a call on his cellphone. "The signal is better than the old subway. I don't have to shout to the phone," Wang says, looking at skyscrapers through the window.

 

At 9:28 am, after a 42-minute ride, the train arrived at the southern terminal, Songjiazhuang station. Wang exited the platform and wanted to ride back to examine more properties along the line.

 

"Your ticket please," the conductor asked Wang.

 

"I just want to change direction and return to where I came from," says Wang, a bit confused. "You can change your way at any station except this terminal. This is the south terminal and you have to buy a new ticket to return," the conductor says.

 

"This is ridiculous," says Wang as he queued up in front of the ticket office. "There isn't even a sign to remind me."

 

Wang was not the only joy rider to be charged twice. Two elderly ladies, Cha and Zhang, who came together to "experience the new metro line" all the way from Tongzhou District in Beijing's eastern suburbs, made the same mistake. But their curiosity about the new train soon overweighed the minor frustration.

 

"Instead of going underground, now we ride on the ground. It's brighter and I can watch the scenery outside," Cha says.

 

"The train looks wider and bigger. There is no door between two adjacent carriages, so I can see from one end of the train to the other," Zhang adds.

 

But Zhang wasn't satisfied with the bar handle in the train. "It's too high for people like me to reach," says Zhang, who is about 160 centimeters tall. "It would be better if they added more roof-to-floor poles in the middle of the train."

 

The two ladies got off at Yonghegong, where people can transfer to the No 2 loop line. They were impressed with the station's platform, which looks like a tour spot in the Forbidden City, with rails and stairs of white marble, and large columns painted in traditional Chinese scarlet.

 

However some people say the platform is not practical. At 11:32 am, passengers getting off the car crowded onto the stairs to exit or transfer lines. The marble stairs looked more like a bottleneck than a throughway.

 

"This station is like a labyrinth," says Sa, a Swedish student studying in China. She was wandering among stairs and escalators. "The lack of signs makes transfers complicated."

 

Zhong Shen, a local Beijing resident in Tiantongyuan of northern Beijing, makes a transfer at Yonghegong station everyday. "Even I get lost here easily. It took me some five minutes to find the No 2 loop line the first day I took the train to work."

 

Besides Yonghegong, Dongdan is another busy transfer station along the new metro line. At Dongdan, people can transfer to the No 1 line running along the Chang'an Avenue - the east-west axial of Beijing.

 

Margaret looked frustrated as she stood alone, a backpack in her hands. She had traveled to China from Chicago with her friend, whom she had just lost. Her friend rushed on the previous train but the door closed very fast and Margaret was left behind. She was waiting for her friend to get off at the next station and take the next train back.

 

In order to keep passengers off the track, the new metro line has automatic glass doors installed on each platform. When a train arrives, these doors open at the same time as carriage doors open.

 

Platform security guard Dong Ranran says a train must leave the station within 90 seconds, even in the rush hour, to meet the timetable. As a result, some slower passengers might be left behind. Dong has to remind passengers to keep clear of the doors. A bell also reminds passengers of closing doors. It seems the new door system still has a few more bugs to be worked out.

 

At 7:30 am on October 12, carriage doors would not close at the Tiantandongmen (Temple of Heaven East) station. The same thing happened last Friday at the Dengshikou station. Hundreds of passengers were asked to disembark and change to buses.

 

The 23 stations along the metro No 5 line have a total of 1,104 automatic doors. "We keep four technical engineers at each station, and they will handle problems as quickly as possible," says Ding Shukui, vice-president of Beijing Rail-construction Co Ltd.

 

"We apologize for any inconvenience to passengers, and we hope they will understand that the one-year shakedown period is for finding and solving these problems."

 

"To get in front of new things, we have to be patient," says Gong Guangyong, a local resident. "It takes time to get everything on track."

 

(China Daily October 23, 2007)