Having served as the backbone of the Beijing subway system for more than 30 years, the ever-popular Line 1 is finally getting a modern upgrade: safety doors. Along with Line 2, the glass doors will be installed by 2017.

The new doors should help prevent accidents on the Line 1 and 2 subway tracks. Last Thursday, a man fell onto the tracks at Fuxingmen Station on Line 1, while the evening before saw a woman fall onto the tracks at Xuanwumen Station on Line 2, hitting her head. Both people were safely helped off the tracks.

While newer subway lines — Line 6, 8, and the extension of Line 10—are equipped with glass safety doors, accidents still happen. Earlier this month, a 33 year-old commuter was killed when she became trapped in the safety doors at a Line 5 station. And while the new safety doors are certainly an improvement, it has been revealed that they lack infrared sensors which detect commuters walking towards them, and therefore don’t always open when they should.

With new infrastructure often comes new costs, and with the Beijing Metro continuing to expand, fares are set to be raised in the near future.

Photo: takefoto