Shanghai Train Station Experiences Major Power Outage on New Year’s Eve, Stranding Numerous Passengers in Carriages

On the New Year’s Eve, the Shanghai Railway Station suddenly experienced a major power outage, leaving a large number of passengers trapped inside high-speed train carriages. Some passengers reported that the local railway station prohibited passengers from disembarking, and even prevented passengers from filming the situation inside the carriages.

The official Weibo account of China Railway Shanghai Station recently announced that around 5 p.m. on January 28th, a sudden contact network failure near the Shanghai Station area caused delays in the operation of some trains.

The official statement did not disclose details of the malfunction. However, several videos posted by netizens showed a significant number of passengers stranded at the Shanghai Station area.

In a video shared by a netizen, it was revealed that on the New Year’s Eve of January 28th, they were trapped at the Shanghai Railway Station due to a power outage. Initially, train attendants said they could only open one carriage door for passengers to disembark, but the station authorities did not approve passenger disembarkation. Consequently, many passengers were forced to remain in dark carriages, leading to heightened tensions among them.

Furthermore, passengers inside the carriages attempted to livestream the situation to the public but were stopped by train attendants. The person filming expressed, “I did not say (the power outage) was your fault.” “I didn’t even speak, just displaying the situation here normally.”

In the video, a passenger questioned the attendant, “Is there a law that prohibits livestreaming?” “Can you tell me which law says it’s illegal for him to livestream?” Eventually, the attendant had to leave, allowing the person filming to continue the livestream.

Since January 23rd, following the Central Meteorological Observatory’s issuance of the first cold wave warning this year, the cold wave process has affected most parts of China from west to east, severely impacting transportation facilities across the country. On January 27th, the Central Meteorological Observatory continued to issue a yellow alert for strong winds, forecasting that certain areas in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, and other regions would experience winds of about Grade 5 from the north and gusts ranging from Grade 7 to 9.

According to weather forecasts, widespread rain and snowfall will cause temperatures to drop by 6 to 10 degrees Celsius in various parts of China, coinciding with the peak travel period for the Lunar New Year.

Extreme weather not only affects the safety of railway travel but also poses a significant risk to high-speed rail. As reported by mainland media, once a thick layer of ice forms on the surface of the high-speed rail contact network, it can lead to a decrease in the contact performance between the pantograph and the contact network, potentially resulting in power outages, short circuits, sparks, and other hazards, severely impacting the operational efficiency and safety of high-speed rail services.