Ms. Tong took the subway to catch a flight but encountered a subway communication failure. She rode one stop too far and had to return. After all this, she missed her flight and had to change her itinerary, causing losses. Afterwards, she sued Wuhan Metro Operations Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the Metro Company) in court, claiming a total of over 1,000 yuan for rebooking fees and other losses. Today, the Qiaokou District Court announced its first-instance verdict, dismissing all of Ms. Tong's claims.
　　According to the presiding judge, there have been many cases of passengers suing airlines for compensation due to flight delays, but this case is the first in the country of suing the subway for delaying a trip.

　　Female Passenger Sues Metro Company: Wrong Station Announcement Delayed Flight, Claims Compensation for Losses

　　Ms. Tong, 41, said that she and her husband's sister's family, five people in total, entered the station at Houhu Avenue on Wuhan Metro Line 3 at 7:28 a.m. on July 25, 2017, intending to go to Fanhu Station to transfer to Line 2 to Tianhe Airport, and take a 9:50 a.m. flight to the Chaoshan area of Guangdong for tourism. When they reached Lingjiaohu Station, the subway had a problem, and the broadcast did not announce the station name. After arriving at Fanhu, the train did not stop, and when it reached the next station, Yunfei Road, it announced it as Fanhu.

　　Ms. Tong said that after they got off the train, they asked the station staff and learned it was Yunfei Road. They hurriedly took the opposite train back to Fanhu to transfer, but after waiting for about ten minutes, no subway came. The staff told her that the opposite train also had a malfunction and suggested she wait. Considering the tight schedule, they exited the station at 8:10 a.m. and ran to Fanhu Station, transferred to Line 2 at 8:30 a.m., and arrived at the airport at 9:20 a.m. By then, boarding had stopped, so they had to rebook a flight at 11:30 a.m., spending 675 yuan on rebooking fees.

　　"Such an episode made our trip unpleasant. After returning to Wuhan, we negotiated with the Metro Company but to no avail," Ms. Tong recalled the incident with lingering upset.

　　On October 9, 2017, Ms. Tong turned her grievances into a lawsuit, suing the Metro Company and demanding that the defendant pay her 675 yuan for rebooking fees, 3.2 yuan for extra subway transfer costs, 500 yuan for lost work time, transportation, printing, etc. incurred due to the case, as well as court costs.

　　In court, the Metro Company's agent admitted there was a communication failure but argued no liability

　　On November 29, 2017, the case was heard at the Qiaokou District Court. The reporter attended the hearing. The Metro Company's agent argued that the first segment of the plaintiff's journey, from Houhu Avenue to Fanhu Station, although affected by the communication failure on Line 3 from Zhuanyang Avenue to Yunfei Road Station, still maintained a travel time of within half an hour, which is reasonable. The second segment, from Fanhu to Tianhe Airport, is on Line 2 and was not affected by the Line 3 communication failure; the entire journey took about 50 minutes, also reasonable. Therefore, the defendant transported the plaintiff to the destination within a reasonable time and did not breach the contract. In addition, the subway line the plaintiff took that day did not fail to stop at Fanhu Station. In fact, when the train arrived at Fanhu Station, the doors opened, and the voice announcement system was normal. Even if the plaintiff did not hear the voice announcement, she could have obtained the station information by checking the signs in the station. The plaintiff herself failed to get off in time and rode past the station to Yunfei Road.

　　The agent also pointed out that the plaintiff did not choose the correct route. That day, if she had chosen Houhu Avenue—Hongtu Avenue—Tianhe Airport, there were only 7 stops, but the route she chose had 19 stops. The defendant did not breach the contract in performing the transportation contract. The plaintiff failed to arrange her time reasonably, chose the wrong route, and rode past her stop, resulting in missing the flight; she should bear the responsibility herself.

　　The agent also said that after the plaintiff rode past the station, she could have taken other means of transportation to the airport, but she did not take any measures. The resulting loss is an aggravated loss and also a loss unforeseeable by the defendant. According to the provisions of the Contract Law, this loss should be borne by the plaintiff herself.

　　First-instance Court Dismisses Plaintiff's Claims, Plaintiff Appeals

　　After trial, the court found that at 5:48 a.m. on July 25, 2017, due to a signal equipment failure from Zhuanyang Avenue Station to Yunfei Road on Line 3, the entire line switched to short-turn operation between Fanhu Station and Hongtu Avenue Station. The section from Wuhan Business District Station to Zhuanyang Avenue Station operated in degraded mode, causing departure intervals to lengthen. By 7:52 a.m., the entire Line 3 adjusted to long and short-turn operation, with the long-turn section from Zhuanyang Avenue Station to Hongtu Avenue Station having a departure interval of about 9 minutes, and the short-turn section from Fanhu Station to Hongtu Avenue Station having a departure interval of about 4 minutes.

　　It was further found that Wuhan Tianhe Airport stops check-in 40 minutes before flight departure. The flight the plaintiff originally planned to take stopped check-in at 9:10 a.m. that day.

　　The court held that although Line 3 did adjust to long and short-turn operation due to a signal equipment failure that day, the existing evidence could not prove that the Line 3 subway failed to stop and announce at Fanhu Station, that there was no reverse train back to Fanhu Station, nor could it prove a causal relationship between the subway failure and the plaintiff's missed flight and rebooking. Even if the plaintiff's statement were true, as rail transit is an important mode of transportation closely related to public travel, the defendant as carrier is obligated to make the greatest effort to reasonably and promptly transport passengers safely to their destination, but the defendant did not promise passengers a specific arrival time. Therefore, the defendant did not breach the contract, and the court dismissed all of Ms. Tong's claims.

　　After the verdict, the Metro Company's agent declined an interview. Ms. Tong appealed. Her husband, Mr. Liu, said that he had complained after the incident, but the Metro Company staff said that before the incident, they had posted a notice on Weibo about adjusting long and short-turn operations due to signal equipment failure. He still believes that the Metro Company's actions infringed on passengers' right to know and right to choose. "As passengers, it's impossible for us to constantly follow the Metro Company's official Weibo, right? The Metro Company should have staff inform passengers or make announcements before boarding, so that passengers can choose whether to take the subway or other transportation based on the specific situation."

　　Ms. Tong said that as one of the most important means of urban transportation, the subway has become the first choice for many people due to its speed and convenience. The lawsuit for compensation is not the ultimate goal; she wants to use this lawsuit to urge the Metro Company to better standardize its operations and serve the public well.