IN response to a piece of news about stop-skipping released Monday, Shenzhen Metro Group said that stop-skipping will not be carried out soon or on a certain day and the probability is very small, so passengers should not panic, sznews.com reported Tuesday.

Stop-skipping is a public transit service pattern that reduces travel time and eases passenger flow by not making all designated stops along a route in case of an extreme emergency. It is an organization pattern that Metro lines in every city have adopted since their opening and operation.

However, it rarely happens in daily operation and is adopted only in extremely special circumstances, such as a sudden emergency or a sudden large passenger flow, according to the staff of Shenzhen Metro Group.

Thus, it is still a norm for the trains to stop at every station. When the Metro lines decide to skip a stop, the coordinator will tell the control room and the train driver two stations in advance, and the car control room and the train driver will inform the passengers by radio.

At the stop-skipping station, the radio announces, “Dear passengers, the train to XX will not stop at this station, please wait patiently for the next train.” While on the train, the radio will announce, “Dear passengers, the train will not stop at XX station, please don’t open the door.”

According to Shenzhen Metro Group, passengers who miss their stop can get off and take the train in the reverse direction to their destination. If the layout of some stations is complex, they can follow the guiding signs or ask the station staff for help.

The first and the last trains will not skip stops, and stations with a large passenger flow as well as transfer stations will not be skipped.

(Zhang Yu)