Public opinion sought on railway safety regulations

China on Monday began to solicit public opinion on a draft of regulations on railway safety, which has stipulated tightened standards on locomotive parts, signal system and railway contract.

The regulations, published by the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council (www.chinalaw.gov.cn), requires producers of locomotive switches, signaling equipment and power supplies, among other safety equipment, to be approved by state authorities.

Producers of locomotive parts are required to suspend the production and recall faulty products, according to the draft regulations.

Faulty equipment has been blamed for a spate of high-speed train accidents that include traffic delays and a fatal accident near the eastern city of Wenzhou in July last year, in which a high-speed train slammed into a stalled train, leaving 40 people dead and 172 injured.

To ensure the quality of railroad structure, the draft regulations ban subcontracting of framework projects of railroad, usually referring to pillars, beams, rails and protection measures.

Prime and sub-contractors will have to bear joint liability in case they share a railway project, according to the regulations, which also requires railways to be kept off and warnings to be installed if trains' speed exceed 120 km per hour.