Beijing's subway lines are all equipped with platform screen doors

Platform screen doors are installed in Beijing's Subway Line One. [Photo: from Baidu.com]

Platform screen doors installed on Beijing's Subway Line 1 were put into use on September 10, which aims to prevent passengers from falling on to the rail track. This means the entire Beijing subway network is equipped with sliding doors on the platform, except for Pingguoyuan station on Line One. This stop will be receive protective doors once it finishes its conversion into a line-changing station.

According to Beijing's subway authority, Beijing's Subway Line 1, the first subway line in Beijing, finished its construction in 1969 and started operation in 1971. Due to the small number of passengers when it was first opened, the platform of Line One is narrow and barely has the ability to withstand the weight of the platform barriers and doors. This increased the technical challenge of the installation.

Building the protective platform took two years. During the period of construction, Subway Line One remained operational. Builders worked three hours each day after Line One closed at midnight. After the construction, every sliding security door went through 5000 trial operations before it was put into use.

The whole construction finished 20 days ahead of the original deadline. The platform screen doors open simultaneously with the subway doors. Two lights on the top of each side of the doors keep flashing when the doors are open.