With the Olympic Games approaching, Beijing has been intensifying its security preparations. Since June 29, formal safety inspections have been made on the subway system, one of Beijing's most important modes of transport. X-ray machines, police officers and police dogs have all been put into use. How is Beijing intensifying its safety measures in order to welcome the Olympics?

On July 9, Jia Peng, director of publicity for the Beijing Subway Operation Co. Ltd, accepted an interview by China.org.cn and discussed in detail measures for subway safety.

China.org.cn:
Many people said that a number of "big machines," that is, X-ray machines, have been seen in the Beijing subways recently. Are these big machines prepared for the upcoming Olympic Games?

Jia Peng:
Yes. In order to reach the goal of a safe Olympics, our Beijing subway system has been carrying out full-scale safety inspections on the five operating lines since June 29. Machine inspections have been added to the manual inspections and police dogs' check. The inspections will cover a much wider range, as well as being more targeted and accurate.
With regard to passengers' baggage, bulky items have to be inspected while small ones will be selectively checked, in case one of the eight categories of prohibited items is carried into the subway. This measure, ensuring safety on the subway, has been well understood and recognized. Passengers are all cooperating with it.

China.org.cn:
How many machines have been added in Beijing?

Jia Peng:
As of June 29, 186 X-ray machines had been mounted at the 93 stations along the five subway lines. These machines are exactly what people see at the airport or railway station. Passengers put their bulky baggage on the conveyor belt before entering the station. Screeners will also check items in parcels if necessary. If something is found to be wrong, the police will deal with it immediately.

So far, not all of the over 180 X-ray machines have been put into use, since some are still being debugged. At places where such machines haven't been put into use, screeners will make inspections with instruments in hand, that is, metal detectors. In this way, some metal items can be detected in bulky baggage, and small baggage can also be selectively checked. Such inspections are more random and convenient.

The third kind of inspection instrument is a liquid detector. When passengers come into the subway, all liquids except those for drinking will be inspected. After detection, and according to the judgment of the instrument, screeners can identify whether the liquid you have is dangerous.

The fourth category is a kind of detector aimed at explosives. It is like a hand-held vacuum cleaner. After metal detectors discover a suspicious item, a detector used for explosives will make the actual detection. Then the public security staff will deal with it. They will put it into an explosion-proof tank and professionals will dispose of it.

Therefore, application of the four categories of machines can reduce dangers to a certain degree, since some passengers may carry one of the eight kinds of prohibited items into the station due to their ignorance. Such inspections can ensure safety of all passengers.

China.org.cn:
We see that there are also some policemen and police dogs besides the instruments you have introduced.

Jia Peng:
That's right, since safety inspections are carried out by three groups of forces. The first is the Public Transportation Security Department of the Public Security Bureau. This team is responsible for public safety at the subway. Its major duty in the whole system of safety inspections is to execute laws and rules according to their requirements. The second is composed of all screeners we see. The subway corporation has recruited more than 3,100 screeners, whose major task is to help the police operate these machines, direct the flow of passengers and take responsibility for the publicity of safety inspections. The third is made up of the subway staff as well as security personnel. When the subway is in operation, they monitor the subway stations, halls, tunnels and carriages in real-time. If something that might cause danger happened, they would deal with it effectively in order to ensure a safe subway. Meanwhile, by using the video-monitoring system installed at subway stations, carriages, halls and hallways, they can learn about the flow of passengers at various public places in the subway and provide relevant information quickly for the police and security personnel. With these measures in place, the safety of passengers can be effectively ensured.

The three groups of forces form a network to protect the whole subway from danger. In an emergency, they will carry out their respective tasks effectively.

China.org.cn:
Now people are not allowed to take liquids on a plane. Will it also be forbidden to take liquids on the subway during the Olympic Games? Actually, there have been some measures to deal with that. People are concerned whether it will be forbidden in the future.

Jia Peng:
We made a clear announcement recently that there are also some limitations for liquids which can be taken on the subway, since they don't belong to the eight categories of prohibited items. However, poisonous liquids and liquids that are harmful to one's body, such as gasoline, alcohol, kerosene and sulfate, are completely different from water and beverages. Therefore, people should be clear that we have made a distinction between these types of liquids passengers take. People are allowed to take beverages, but they have to be selectively checked by a liquid detector to examine their ingredients. If they are found to be of no danger to the public, you can take them into the subway. It's quite difficult to judge whether the liquid itself is harmful, so we have to check it with a liquid detector.

During the Olympics, we must selectively inspect bottles of liquid which passengers take. The liquid detector can soon identify whether it is normal or poisonous. Recently we did an experiment. We took a mineral water bottle, with one-third water and two-thirds alcohol. If there is a certain alcohol concentration, the liquid detector can quickly recognize it. After detection, we cannot say it is harmful; instead, the staff has to open the bottle, observe and smell the liquid, and require the passenger to drink it. All these measures are taken to ensure that the liquid is not a threat to other passengers.

China.org.cn:
Have you caught any passengers trying to take on prohibited items since June 29?

Jia Peng:
Yes. We actually have found some passengers trying to take on prohibited items at different security checkpoints. These prohibited items can mainly be divided into three types: inflammable and explosive materials; gasoline, alcohol and kerosene; and lighters. I must say that passengers are allowed to take on one or two lighters. But if merchants or hawkers try to take on hundreds of lighters because they have their own lighter business, we will strictly inspect them, as it is very dangerous to put so many lighters together in such a little space. The result will be terrible if these lighters explode. In addition, some kinds of souvenirs coming from minority ethnic areas or tourist areas, such as knives, are prohibited.

China.org.cn:
If an accident happens, is there a way for passengers to escape from the area as quickly as possible?

Jia Peng:
We mainly divide the public place in the subway into three regions: halls and stations; hallways and tunnels; and carriages.

First, if something suddenly happens in the carriages, such as the lights going out or the air conditioner not working, passengers should keep calm and follow the subway driver or another staff member's commands. The most dangerous thing a passenger can do is to jump from the windows, because the electrical current beneath the subway reaches 750 volts. In this situation, the subway driver should tell passengers the reason why they are stopped and to wait for the rescue. If subway service is totally discontinued, our staff will communicate with the workers at the general scheduling room to make sure the subway track power is off. Then the passengers can exit into the tunnel through the escape doors and walk to the station.

Second, if an accident happens at the station, passengers should be aware of where the exit is. There are fluorescent emergency exit signs on the walls in every station. Following these signs, passengers can escape.

Third, if an incident happens in the hallways, the most important thing, again, is to remain calm. As we all know, it is hard for passengers to have a good sense of direction here. But don't be worried. We have three different systems to ensure the lighting of the tunnels, the stations and the hallways when an emergency happens. They are the normal lighting system, the emergency lighting system and the accident lighting system.

Under normal circumstances, common lamps are the source of station lighting. Once the normal lighting system doesn't work, the emergency lighting system will play its role, which is to provide battery-powered emergency lights. These emergency lights can last for a few hours. What is the accident lighting system? If there is something wrong with the power system in Fuxingmen Station and it cannot provide normal electrical lighting, nearby Xidan Station will provide dynamic power or lighting power for the Fuxingmen Station.

China.org.cn:
The Olympics branch of the Beijing subway has been a mystery since its inception. How about it now? Can you give us some information?

Jia Peng:
The Olympic branch is part of line 8 in our design. Because the main Olympic venues lie in the northern area of the field for the Asian games, and line 8 goes right between the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube, this line was designed in accordance with a two-step plan. The 5.8-kilometer subway serving the Olympics should be completed before the opening of Olympics. After that it will be expanded north and south so that the second part of the plan can be finished.

At present, four stations have been completed and are in trial-use without passengers. Now they are preparing for operation during the Olympics and in mid-July will be in trial operation. After the trial, because the line is through the center of the main Olympics area, it will not serve ordinary passengers during the Olympics and Paralympics. Instead, it will serve Olympic officials, registered journalists, volunteers and those passengers who have valid tickets to the Bird's Nest, Water Cube, and the other venues. It will be open to the common citizens after the Olympics.