MTR, the operator of Longhua Line, will buy more trains to cut departure intervals to six minutes during the Universiade and five minutes from October.

There are now eight trains running at eight-minute intervals on the 20-km line. The number of trains will increase to 18 by the end of the year and rise to 24 at the end of next year, according to procurement plan released on June 30.

The extra trains would improve efficiency, Liu Tiancheng, general manager of MTR Shenzhen Co., told a news conference on June 30.

There were 160,000 passengers on average on weekdays and 200,000 at weekends, the company said.

“If the trains don’t satisfy the needs of commuters, the company will consider adding two more cars on each train to increase capacity,” Liu said.

Liu’s remarks follow at least three incidents in the past two weeks with overcrowded trains and doors that wouldn’t close.

A rail link with Futian CBD with populated Longhua in Bao’an, there were masses of passengers during morning and evening rush hours.

MTR had added standby trains for crowded stations, according to Hu Ruihua, the operations manager. “During morning rush hours, the Operation Control Center arranges one or two trains to transport passengers from Shenzhen North Station to Futian Checkpoint. The train stops only at crowded stations,” Hu said.

The company also brought more than 100 Hong Kong employees to Shenzhen to work.

The company had also formed a team of experts to solve technical problems of doors that don’t function properly.

The doors are sensitive to pressure from the crowds. Chen Zhensheng, Shenzhen company’s engineering manager, suggested commuters maintain order when getting on or off trains.

“Passengers should not push the doors and stay away from the doors when they get on the trains,” Chen said.

Chen also advised commuters to use the emergency system properly, otherwise there would be delays because Metro employees had to reset the system manually