Passengers try to save an elderly man who collapsed after allegedly quarreling with a young woman at Lishuiqiao station on Subway Line 13 on October 8. The man died at the scene. Photo: IC



Quarrels and fights between passengers occur almost daily on Beijing's subway system, and some seriously impact the normal operation of the network, the subway's main operator admitted Monday.

Beijing Subway, which operates  15 lines out of the total 17, is collecting information on the number of fights between passengers that has affected the smooth running of the subway, media officer Jia Peng told the Global Times.

"But the exact number is still unavailable," he said.

To date, there have been at least seven fights between passengers that affected the subway's routine operations this year, the Beijing Daily reported Monday.

Most quarrels break out as passengers get on or off trains, or enter and exit stations. In busy transfer stations, where passenger numbers are greatest, quarrels caused by pushing and jostling occur almost daily, the report said.

A female staff member in Sihui transfer station on Subway Line 1, who would not give her name, said that she has seen many quarrels and fights during the 10 years she has worked at the station.

"What we fear most are quarrels and fights on the platform, as people might fall off," she said, adding that staff members would mediate a settlement between passengers; if the passengers fought, police would be immediately called.

"If the quarrel or fight happens after passengers board the train, there's nothing we can do," she said.

Yin Hang, 26, who lives in Chaoyang district, said that he saw an incident caused when a woman pushed a man in front of her by accident when getting on a train at Xizhimen Subway Station.

"The train was going to leave but the two of them stopped on the platform to argue. They blocked the entrance so many passengers lining up behind were not able to get on," he said.

At least two serious fights occurred in Beijing's subway stations during the past 10 days.

On Saturday, a man and a woman quarreled and fought at Qianmen Subway Station on Subway Line 2 at 11:50 am. The woman pushed the man off the platform onto the tracks, and then jumped off herself, continuing to beat him. Two minutes later, station staff arrived and took them to the subway's police station, the Beijing Morning Post reported Sunday.

Beijing Subway posted on its Sina microblog Saturday that the incident did not affect the subway line's normal operation. The post did not mention how police dealt with the brawlers.

On the afternoon of October 8, an elderly male passenger died after allegedly quarreling with a young woman at Lishuiqiao station on Subway Line 13, the Guangzhou Daily reported Wednesday.

A witness claimed that the woman started to curse the old man, who might have touched her by accident, said the report.

According to the Beijing Daily, a staff member at Hepingmen Station, Subway Line 2, has introduced a procedure to deal with quarrels in carriages.

Passengers can press the emergency button in the carriage to inform the driver, who will then report the incident to the subway  line's control room. Staff at the following station will go to the scene to intervene in the dispute, said the report.

According to the public security administration punishment law, passengers who fight at subway stations could face five to 15 days in detention and a fine of at most 1,000 yuan ($159.6).

Li Hongchang, an associate professor at Beijing Jiaotong University, said that many people would rather pay the fine after fighting to vent their anger than show patience toward each other; therefore, the current level of punishment is not enough to control fights in the subway.

Public moral education still needs to be improved, he told the Global Times, while other kinds of punishments should also be used to deter this kind of behavior.

Many people now attach more importance to their personal fame more than money, he said.

"I think the subway could also inform these passengers' places of work of their misdeeds at the subway stations as a punishment," said Li.