How long does it take to clean up a subway suicide?

Seven minutes:

A woman was killed after she jumped in front of a subway train yesterday, the second suicide in the city's underground network in less than three weeks.

The incident occurred at 12:44pm at the Lujiazui Station on Metro Line 2 in Pudong. A man was killed in a similar incident on January 10. The Metro service was suspended for seven minutes yesterday.

Two in three weeks seems like a lot, but we don't know the figures for other major cities, and we do know that suicides happen in China at an alarming rate, especially among women. We also know that lying on the tracks at Changshu Lu metro station was the No. 7 item on the Shanghai suicide map.

A seven minute turnaround, incidentally, is three minutes faster than when doors won't close because of overcrowding and 13 minutes faster than when someone pulls the emergency brake out of curiosity.

Photo by spinsean.