If you are one of the millions of Chinese who will be going to Beijing’s four railway stations for the annual summer travel rush, be ready to browse elbows with fully-armed police snipers.

Since July 3, authorities have deployed police snipers in the city’s four railway stations, namely, the Beijing West, Beijing North, Beijing South and Beijing Railway, to ensure the safety and security of travelers, reported the Beijing Youth Daily.

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The snipers form part of the special police team called “Iron Eagle Squad”, which was formed by the government Beijing to keep watch of the city’s railway stations.

The squad was organized in March following the series of railway station attacks in other parts of the country.

Each special police team that will be on duty to secure the four railway stations in Beijing will have a sniper, who is trained to shoot even a moving target 1,000 meters away. The sniper is provided with a QBU-88 sniper rifle.

According to Wang Chaokun, an officer in the Iron Eagle Squad, each member of the squad has been trained to respond to emergencies quickly. Squad members can pull out their weapons and start shooting in less than 2 seconds.

Experts said the key to dealing with emergencies lies in the first few minutes to policemen should be able to react and make decisions quickly and efficiently.

Fully-armed, well-trained policemen have been deployed in railway stations across China in order to strengthen the security of those facilities following the series of train station attacks in the past.

Last May, six people were hurt in a knife attack staged by terrorists in Guangzhou. The railway attack was the third incident in just over two months.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who expressed outrage over the recent train station attacks, declared an all-out war against terror groups in the country and urged law enforcement agencies to beef up its anti-terror campaign.

TagsBeijing Railway Stations, Beijing Railway