Shanghai Metro hires people to push commuters into trains!

Shanghai Metro officials have started hiring people to solve the problem of overcrowding in its 37.5-km subway line, which was opened two years ago.

The hired people have been given the responsibility to shove passengers into coaches, as almost all trains running on Line eight between 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., the rush hour, are getting delayed, as doors to the trains do not close because of the overflowing crowd.

Shanghai Metro Operation Center said that every carriage on Line eight is 32 per cent overloaded at all times and 70 per cent overloaded during peak hours.

Even though five extra carriages have been added to the line, it has not eased the problem, with a number of passengers having to see at least three trains go by before they get a chance to step aboard.

"You have to be really rude and brutal to cram yourself into the carriage. A train will not leave a station until all the doors are closed," The China Daily quoted Liao Yumei, a passenger, as saying.

"If one train stays at the station, other trains have to wait until the first train goes. Usually, the train stops for only 30 seconds at each station, but now the time can be four minutes or even longer," she added.

Meanwhile, transportation authorities have set up new bus routes parallel to the most populated sections of metro line eight and line six, but very few passengers choose that mode of transport.

"It is unrealistic to solve the problem of overcrowded carriages by increasing capacity. It's quite necessary to set up new bus routes," a spokesman for the Shanghai Metro Operation Center said.

"It takes some time for passengers to get used to the new alternative, and we hope that passengers will take buses more often in the future to help release the pressure of metro line 8," the spokesman added.