China Exclusive: Light at the end of the tunnel for subway drivers
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E-mail Xinhua, April 30, 2014
The International Workers' Day on May 1 has never brought subway driver Kuang Wentian, 34, much respite from the pitch dark of the tunnel. On the contrary, increased traffic on the national holiday brings him even more stress.
On Thursday, this year's Workers Day, Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, expects a record traffic of 7.7 million passengers on its metro.
The stress Kuang endures is common among subway drivers in China, which has seen fast expansion of underground networks in major cities. As of 2020, 50 cities are expected to have subway networks, compared to 19 at the end of 2013.
Being aware of the problems drivers face, some metro operators give psychological help to subway drivers prevent long-term health problems.
NEGATIVE EMOTIONS
Over the past 16 years, Kuang has covered more than 500,000 kilometers, equivalent to more then 12 times around the world, and carried tens of millions of passengers without accident. Despite this perfect safety record, Kuang can never relax during tedious daily routine. He is forever pulling hand levers, signaling, monitoring, opening and closing doors, and watching passengers in the carriages and on the platform.
"The biggest headache is equipment malfunction. We're required to comfort the passengers, find the problem and fix it, all within three minutes," he said.
As a result of soaring passenger numbers, the interval between trains has been reduced to less than three minutes, which is a big safety issue for drivers, said Huang Ping, a senior manager with Guangzhou metro.
For Kuang, the loneliness he suffers underground every day is worse than the stress. "You sit through eight hours in the tunnel all alone, and must keep alert all the time," he said, adding that he spent New Year's Eve in the noisy cab many times.
Occupational psychologist, Song Guoping, believes subway drivers feel isolated because they have few chances to interact with workmates and many are dissatisfied with their pay and career prospects.
"These feelings are likely to take a toll on the drivers' personal lives," Song said. "For example, some take their silence in the cab back home, while some are just the opposite, talking too much after work."
A regulation that took effect on April 1 this year means that subway drivers must take psychological tests on a regular basis.
COUNSELING & CARE
In November 2011, Guangzhou's Southern Medical University launched a 24-hour hotline to help the 1,600 drivers of Guangzhou metro deal with stress. The average age of drivers is only 26, and by February 2014, nearly 700 drivers and their families had spoken to counsellors on the phone.
A similar hotline was opened for young drivers on three subway lines in Shanghai in 2013. In addition to answering day-to-day calls for help, consultants often have to deal with drivers who encounters suicide at work. In the past decade, Song and her team have been providing psychological counseling to subway drivers in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
The psychologists suggested the drivers rearrange their working environment to improve their mood and someone brought a toy bear into the cab. "The fluffy texture of toys can make some people feel secure," Song said.
The drivers' families were also encouraged to give care and support, which is "very important to the drivers' mental health," she said. Endi
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