Crowds of passengers were compelled to stay at a metro interchange hub in downtown Beijing during rush hour Monday morning, due to an electric breakdown.

At around 7:55 on Monday morning, an overload trip occurred at a transformer substation at Xuanwumen section of the city's No. 2 subway line, According to sources with the city's subway operation company.

The accident caused a failure in the metro signal system, which led to extension of the minimum subway operation interval from three minutes to 10 minutes.

A large quantity of passengers who were on their way to work had to stay at several metro stations. Some of them managed to elbow out of the station entrances and to rush for office by bus or taxi. As a result, buses near the metro stations were overcrowded and taxies were in short supply for the time being.

At around 8:19, the breakdown was fixed and normal operation of the subway resumed on the loop line of the subway, the sources said.

No casualties were reported in the accident.

Editor: Donald