Wenzhou rail disaster cover up?

[Grey Havoc]

Train car involved in accident buried one day after collision.

BY ATSUSHI OKUDERA CORRESPONDENT

2011/07/25


WENZHOU, China-Workers began burying on July 24 what is believed to be part of the front car that collided with another train along a high-speed railway line near Wenzhou.

Before dawn on July 24, one train car that derailed and toppled over lay stuck into the ground while leaning against the elevated track.

On the ground nearby was what looked like the front car of the train that is believed to have collided into another train that had stopped on the track. The front car was split in two.

From around 6 a.m. on July 24, seven loading shovels begin digging a hole in the vegetable field next to the accident scene.

The workers dug a hole about four to five meters deep and about 20 meters wide. At around 7:30 a.m., one of the loading shovels began to crush the front car. The train driver's seat containing various equipment was destroyed and what remained of the train car was buried in the hole.


(Pictures at original article)
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201107250268.html

 

[Nik]

The mind boggles...


The report I saw had one train struck by lightning and halted, then hit by a second, after which several carriages fell off a bridge / viaduct, or vice-versa.


News this morning was that several senior executives of the train company had been summarily sacked.


Still, crushing wrecked carriages into a hasty hole seems a bit odd, even for the inscrutable Chinese...

 

[unclejim]

The Chicoms are just unable to admit much when something fails, or goes off the rails ;D . It is one reason I have a hard time excepting anything at face value they have to say. Still too third-worldy in behaviour for my tastes.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Such much for a 'thorough investigation'.

 

[ninjamode]

They actually did 'thouroughly investigate' and then decided it was better for them to bury it haha

 

[Grey Havoc]

Another serious accident; Luckily no-one seems to have been killed this time around but over 240 people have been injured: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8792148/Shanghai-train-crash-injures-over-240.html (Short video clip of aftermath included)

 

[Grey Havoc]

The knives are well and truly out:

Defects found before Chinese high-speed train opened.

BY KENJI MINEMURA CORRESPONDENT

2011/10/04


BEIJING -- The Railways Ministry likely ignored an internal warning about safety defects to open the Beijing-Shanghai section of the high-speed rail system in time for the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China on July 1.

Liu Gang, vice director of the transport equipment department, told a meeting on May 30 that serious defects were found in key safety devices, including the automatic train protection system, during a trial run, according to sources.

"Despite the large number of train cars and the wide variety of parts to be introduced, we don't have sufficient funds," Liu was quoted as telling ministry officials. "If we do not solve these problems immediately, they would directly affect the safety of operations."

The meeting was held in Shanghai one month before the Beijing-Shanghai section opened on June 30.

Liu cited a lack of both personnel and facilities for inspections designed to find defects in advance, according to sources present at the meeting.

Inspections for high-speed trains, more sophisticated than conventional ones, require experienced personnel. But 900 of the 1,830 workers hired did not have any prior experience.

Inspection facilities for train cars were largely uncompleted.

"Perfect safety will be far from guaranteed if things are left as they are," Liu said.

The Beijing-Shanghai section has experienced a number of problems, indicating that the ministry did not take any basic countermeasures despite his warning.

In August, the ministry was forced to order the manufacturer of train cars to suspend shipments and recall products.

What happened on the Beijing-Shanghai section suggests that the tendency to neglect safety was widespread in China's railway industry.

A high-speed train derailed in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, on July 23, killing 40 people. Experts said the construction period for the Ningbo-Wenzhou section may have been cut short to stay on schedule.

More than 280 people were injured in an accident on a subway line in Shanghai, which is operated by Shanghai Shentong Metro Group Co., on Sept. 27.

The Line 10 Subway, which experienced many troubles before the accident, went into service in time for the opening of the Shanghai Expo in May 2010.

"The operators probably hastened to open the lines, putting the honor of the state and provinces ahead of the safety of operations," said a source close to the Communist Party of China.

Tang Tao, a professor at Beijing Jaotong University and a member of the government panel investigating the accident in Wenzhou, hinted that accelerating construction to meet the schedule may have led to the accident.

"What must be guaranteed at any cost is the execution of the construction work, not the opening day," Tang told a meeting in Beijing on Sept. 20.

The same manufacturer supplies train cars for the Ningbo-Wenzhou section and the Beijing-Shanghai section. The two sections and the Shanghai subway line also use signaling systems from the same company.


http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201110030287.html

 

[Grey Havoc]

Demise of China's unloved railways ministry (BBC News)