A Shanghai subway line was halted for 20 minutes at Wednesday's morning rush hour after a passenger pulled the emergency brake in a subway train out of curiosity.

A fully-loaded train running on the No. 2 subway route linking the Hongqiao International Airport with the Pudong New District came to a stop at 8:49 AM, and thousands of passengers were stranded for 20 minutes in the darkness between two downtown stations, said a spokesman of Shanghai Metro Corp., the city's subway service operator.

Investigators of the company found the emergency brake in one carriage had been pulled by a curious passenger. They said it was dangerous because all the doors could open easily during the emergency stop and passengers could be jostled out of the carriage.

Shanghai police are hunting for the troublemaker.

An emergency brake is in the reach of passengers close to the doors of Shanghai's subway trains. Most of them have clear notices that warn people not to pull the brakes unless for emergencies.

(Xinhua News Agency January 24, 2007)