54 officials punished for deadly bullet train crash
By Zha Minjie |
December 29, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A LONG-AWAITED government report has held 54 officials responsible for a bullet train collision in July that killed 40 people in Wenzhou in east China's Zhejiang Province.
It blamed equipment flaws, lax management and poor emergency procedures for the crash, the State Council heard at a meeting chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday.
The report had been expected to be released by mid September.
The report said the Railways Ministry and Shanghai Railway Bureau "failed to properly handle rescue efforts, did not issue information in time and did not correctly address public concerns, which created a bad influence in society."
In what the government described as an "honest and responsible explanation," the report listed a series of reasons that led to the disaster, the most deadly rail accident in China, on the night of July 23 when one high-speed train rammed into another stranded on the track after being hit by lightning. The accident also left nearly 200 injured.
The statement cited "serious design flaws and major safety risks" and what it said were a string of errors in equipment procurement and management. It also criticized the Railways Ministry's rescue efforts.
The report confirmed earlier statements that a lightning strike caused one bullet train to stall and then a sensor failure and missteps by train controllers allowed a second train on the same track to collide with it.
Signal equipment mistakenly showed a green when the light should have been red, allowing the second train to keep moving.
The report detailed 54 officials who would receive administrative punishments. Among them was former Minister of Railways Liu Zhijun, an advocate of high-speed train travel who was detained in February amid a graft probe.
Also singled out was Ma Cheng, the general manager of the signal company, who has since died.
Several others were dismissed from their positions and the Chinese justice department is conducting investigations to determine whether there should be criminal charges.
The bullet train system quickly grew to be the world's biggest but suffered embarrassing setbacks. After the Wenzhou crash, 54 trains used on the Shanghai to Beijing route were recalled for repairs following delays caused by equipment failures.
The railway ministry will pay 915,000 yuan (US$145,007) in compensation for each victim of the train crash, but it has not reached agreements with families of three foreign victims, Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.
Of the 172 injured passengers, the ministry has signed agreements with 101 people that provide compensation of more than 7.5 billion yuan.
The July accident has caused public fury and discontent over reckless growth and government ignorance of safety management.
Railway Minister Sheng Guangzu is required to make a thorough self-criticism and present it to the State Council.
Sheng said yesterday the July train crash has exposed weak links in railway safety management and taught a serious lesson, Xinhua reported.
The railway ministry has been acting as both the regulator and operator of China's railway system.
It blamed equipment flaws, lax management and poor emergency procedures for the crash, the State Council heard at a meeting chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday.
The report had been expected to be released by mid September.
The report said the Railways Ministry and Shanghai Railway Bureau "failed to properly handle rescue efforts, did not issue information in time and did not correctly address public concerns, which created a bad influence in society."
In what the government described as an "honest and responsible explanation," the report listed a series of reasons that led to the disaster, the most deadly rail accident in China, on the night of July 23 when one high-speed train rammed into another stranded on the track after being hit by lightning. The accident also left nearly 200 injured.
The statement cited "serious design flaws and major safety risks" and what it said were a string of errors in equipment procurement and management. It also criticized the Railways Ministry's rescue efforts.
The report confirmed earlier statements that a lightning strike caused one bullet train to stall and then a sensor failure and missteps by train controllers allowed a second train on the same track to collide with it.
Signal equipment mistakenly showed a green when the light should have been red, allowing the second train to keep moving.
The report detailed 54 officials who would receive administrative punishments. Among them was former Minister of Railways Liu Zhijun, an advocate of high-speed train travel who was detained in February amid a graft probe.
Also singled out was Ma Cheng, the general manager of the signal company, who has since died.
Several others were dismissed from their positions and the Chinese justice department is conducting investigations to determine whether there should be criminal charges.
The bullet train system quickly grew to be the world's biggest but suffered embarrassing setbacks. After the Wenzhou crash, 54 trains used on the Shanghai to Beijing route were recalled for repairs following delays caused by equipment failures.
The railway ministry will pay 915,000 yuan (US$145,007) in compensation for each victim of the train crash, but it has not reached agreements with families of three foreign victims, Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.
Of the 172 injured passengers, the ministry has signed agreements with 101 people that provide compensation of more than 7.5 billion yuan.
The July accident has caused public fury and discontent over reckless growth and government ignorance of safety management.
Railway Minister Sheng Guangzu is required to make a thorough self-criticism and present it to the State Council.
Sheng said yesterday the July train crash has exposed weak links in railway safety management and taught a serious lesson, Xinhua reported.
The railway ministry has been acting as both the regulator and operator of China's railway system.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
