(Ecns.cn) – So far 39 people have been killed and 192 injured after a high-speed train crashed into a stalled train near Wenzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang Province on July 23.
On July 25, Railways Minister Sheng Guangzu apologized to the victims of Saturday's crash and their families. He called on all railway staff to learn a lesson from the accident and prevent more serious cases from happening in the future.
Also, in an apology to all passengers, Wang Yongping, spokesman for China's Ministry of Railways, expressed sorrow for the victims and condolences to those injured at a press conference Sunday night.
On July 24, as rescue teams and firefighters with excavators searched for survivors, a girl aged between two and three years old was pulled alive from the wreckage at about 5:40pm, and then the rescue work came to an end. By last night, rescuers had already moved all the derailed carriages away from the crash site, and carriages that did not derail were dragged back to the original two stations.
Zhao Yide, mayor of Wenzhou, said there were more than 1,400 passengers on the two trains, and the uninjured had all been transported by buses.
At the press conference Sunday night, Wang Yongping revealed that all injured people had been sent to hospitals and received proper treatment. He said currently there were still 132 people hospitalized in 11 medical institutions, and 52 people who were slightly injured had already been discharged.
As for passengers who were delayed by the accident, the Shanghai Railway Bureau added two temporary trains to safely transfer them to their destinations.
Because the accident occurred on a bridge about 15 meters high, it caused many difficulties in the rescue efforts. Wang said that the railway was due to reopen at 6:20pm on July 24, but it was pushed back due to severe weather condition and safety concerns. Meanwhile, railway authorities are arranging ticket refunds for affected passengers.
What caused the accident?
The accident occurred at about 8:30 pm after the high-speed train D3115 was allegedly hit by lightning and lost power. It was then rear-ended by another bullet train, D301.
The first four cars of the moving train, the D301 from Beijing to Fuzhou, fell about 15 meters off a viaduct to the ground below. One carriage ended up in a vertical position, leaning against the viaduct. The last two carriages of the stalled train, the D3115 from Hangzhou to Fuzhou, also derailed and fell off the viaduct. Several other carriages were derailed in the accident, but did not fall off the viaduct.
The trains were administrated by two different regional railway bureaus; train D3115 was administered by the Shanghai Railway Bureau, while train D301 by the Nanchang Railway Bureau.
Pan Yiheng, the driver of train D301, was killed by the impact of the brake handle on his chest. He triggered the emergency brake at the last moment of his life, according to the FM93.0 radio of Zhejiang.
According to the Ministry of Railways, the train crash and derailment accident occurred due to a lightning strike which led the train to lose power and then get hit by the second bullet train.
However, the public seemed to not buy the official story, as they were confused about some dubious points. Major questions about the accident had to do with the railway dispatch, the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) and the Train Operation Control and Monitoring Device (LKJ) systems, and the lightning arrester.
The D301 was supposed to arrive at the Taizhou station at 7pm while the D3115 was supposed to arrive in Taizhou at 7:12pm according to the railway timetable. However, when the accident occurred, the situation was entirely opposite to that of the schedule. The D3115 was ahead of D301.
Experts analyzed that if the D301 ran behind schedule and the D3115 passed it, this implied the D3115 had received a signal from the railway dispatch center, and the dispatch center should be aware of the two trains' positions. Using this logic, many people wondered whether trains D3115 and D301 failed to communicate with the railway dispatch center or if it was the fault of the dispatch center.
Some people also asked why the D301 did not stop itself automatically, as it was equipped with the advanced ATP and LKJ signaling systems. In theory, if the distance between the two trains is less than 10 kilometers, the back train will receive a yellow signal to suggest deceleration, and if the driver does not follow the signal, the train will automatically enter the status of a red signal and automatically stop. But the D301 train did not stop automatically in the accident.
Another doubtful point was about the lightning arrester. In the report, the high-speed train D3115 was allegedly hit by lightning and then lost power. Many people wondered whether it was because the train was not equipped with a lightning protection system or the lighting arrester failed to work.
An expert from China Northern Locomotive and Rolling Stock Industry Corp explained that there must be a lightning protection system on the train; however, it does not mean the train will be lightning-proof. Once attacked by severe lightning, the electric current will create a powerful magnetic field which may cause damage to the circuitry on the train.
The State Council has already set up an investigative team led by Zhang Dejiang to deal with the work after the accident and conduct scientific research into the reasons for the accident. Zhang said, they will find out the causes and handle those who violated regulations in a stringent manner.
It was reported that the black box of the train D301 has been found. Reasons for the accident are still under investigation. With the results coming up, these questions will hopefully be cleared soon.
Confidence in high-speed trains to be reassured
After the collision between the two high-speed trains, three senior railway officials were sacked, including Long Jing, head of the Shanghai Railway Bureau, Li Jia, head of the Chinese Communist Party’s Shanghai Railway Bureau's Committee, and He Shengli, deputy chief of the bureau. They will also be subject to investigation.
On July 25, Sheng Guangzu emphasized the importance of enhancing safety. He said the railway authorities will strengthen weak links and reinforce management. In his speech, Sheng said that all officials must take responsibility for safety issues, and they should guide their staff to understand the extreme importance of safety.
Wang Yongping said at the press conference Sunday night, "Safety should be put as the top priority." He mentioned that the ministry had also ordered an immediate country-wide overhaul of railways and train safety, and it would wipe out all potential risks as soon as possible. All railway bureaus will arrange staff members on duty 24/7 to ensure the accuracy of monitoring data.
Despite the accident, Wang reiterated the ministry's confidence in China's high-speed trains. He said, "China's high-speed trains are advanced and qualified. We have confidence in them."
In less than four weeks of operation, power outages and other malfunctions have plagued the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed line, leaving passengers stranded for hours on stuffy trains at least three times since it has opened.
This accident was the largest one in China's high-speed rail history. As problems kept appearing, the public seemed to be in uncertain about the project.
In April 2008, a regular-speed train travelling from Beijing to the eastern coastal city of Qingdao derailed and crashed into another train, killing 72 people and injuring 416.
