Han Ximin

ximhan@126.com

A POWER failure paralyzed the Metro’s Longhua Line between Minle and Futian Checkpoint stations for nearly six hours yesterday, affecting thousands of commuters.

The power failure started at 1:37 p.m. near Children’s Palace Station. Service resumed at 7:15 p.m., a release of operator HKMTR Shenzhen Co. said. The company will hold a press conference today.

Shenzhen’s transport commission arranged 150 buses — 25 to 30 at each station — to transport passengers who were stranded at Metro stations.

According to a resident quoted by Shenzhen Economic Daily, passengers on a Longhua Line train at the time of the power failure heard loud “scratching” sounds coming from the train’s sides and saw electric sparks before the train stopped 10 seconds later. Glass was broken on one side of a train door. Passengers crouched down and were afraid to sit on their seats, the resident told the paper.

The company confirmed the incident was caused by a power failure. “The power supply failure forced me to change to the Longgang Line, the Huanzhong Line and then back to the Longhua Line to get home,” a microblogger complained.

The power failure was yesterday’s second disruption on the line. During the morning rush hour, Metro train 401 from Qinghu to Futian Checkpoint suddenly stopped as it was entering the Children’s Palace Station area. Many passengers who were crammed into the crowded train fell to the ground, according to a microblogger. “The train moved quietly, slowly and unstably, and finally stopped at Civic Center Station, where it halted operation,” the blogger said.

Many residents criticized HKMTR Shenzhen Co., as many problems such as delays have occurred since the entire line opened in June 2011. The operator also was criticized for over-crowding, especially during rush hours.

The line operates six trains with four carriages each and carries 250,000 passengers a day, between downtown Shenzhen and Longhua New Area.