Related stories

China-Canada Business Given Major Boost Beijing Subway Construction gets US$604 million Boost Chocolate A Boost for Health Dell Gets High-level Reshuffle China to Boost Shareholding Reform

Subway Safety Gets Major Boost

Beijing Municipal Government will spend 3.7 billion yuan (US$446 million) by 2007 to remove hidden dangers in its subway system, according to the citys mayor, Wang Qishan.

The newly-elected mayor made the remarks at a meeting of the municipal government in the wake of a subway explosion in Russia and a fatal stampede during a lantern show in the city s Miyun County early this month.

The key part of this large-scale scheme is to improve the fire-prevention facilities in the subways. It would put more trains into operation, improve the systems of fire alert, fire control, ventilation and electricity supply in the subway as well as remove all vending stands in the subway stations. The project, started in 2003, has also seen contingency plans made and a series of emergency drills launched.

Beijings subway has so far been equipped with two automatic fire-prevention systems. In the tunnels of the subway, there are special fume extractors, which, in case of a fire, would be turned on immediately to expel poisonous fumes and smoke.

The rapidly expanding subway system s passenger volume accounts for 15% of the citys public total.