Date: Mar 7th 2014 10:31a.m.

Contributed by:
ktschroedes

Five major Guangzhou Metro stations have now added security checks and extra patrol officers. Keep your knives, nun chucks, explosives and pepper spray at home!

In light of the recent Kunming attack and the stampede on Guangzhou’s Line 5, It’s important for every Metro user to know that authorities are conducting X-ray security checks on passengers’ baggage at Gongyuanqian, Guangzhou East Railway Station, Guangzhou Railway Station, Tiyu Xilu and Kecun. These five stations experience particularly large volumes of daily traffic.

About 100 security officers are now patrolling metro stations and trains, using portable metal detectors to scan for contraband like knives, explosives and chemical agents, which are clearly banned at every sign entering each metro entrance. Railway police equipped with rifles, police dogs and steel batons are on patrol in station squares, platforms, waiting areas, ticket offices and at all entrances. 

The Guangzhou Metro reminds passengers not to bring banned items into stations or trains, and to plan ahead for bag checking time when making transportation plans. Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport also suggests that travelers arrive at the airport two hours prior to their flight’s departure.

Do these new safety measure make you feel safer or are they just another annoyance in the subway?