Two fall off line 2 in Beijing, screen door urged

Two subway riders fell into the rail ditch of Line 2 in Beijing Wednesday morning in the space of less than half an hour.

The Beijing metro management authorities confirmed that one woman jumped into the ditch in an apparent suicidal attempt and was killed at Guloudajie station.

The other one, also a woman fainted and fell into the ditch before climbing out herself at Xuanwumen station.

Both incidents occurred during the morning rush hour and delayed the traffic for nearly an hour.

The two accidents, especially the fatal one, has once again triggered strong reaction from the public demanding the subway lines to be fully installed with screen doors.

Media reports indicated there have been seven such fall-off cases on line 1 and line 2 in the first half of this year.

Line 1 and Line 2 are the oldest metro lines in Beijing.

Metro management authorities say installing screen doors on these two old lines would be a complicated project.

What's more, the two lines, which cut through the downtown center are among the busiest lines, running almost twenty four seven.

In April, authorities worked out plans to make the installations on Line 1.

The work is expected to be finished by 2016.

Line 2 has yet to be approved for the installation of the screen door system.