China safety campaign after bullet train disaster

The Railways Ministry said in a statement all local railway bureaux were to draw lessons from Saturday’s accident in the eastern city of Wenzhou and immediately carry out safety inspections.

One train rammed into the back of another which had stalled after being hit by lightning, causing six carriages to derail and four to plunge about 65ft-100ft from a viaduct. More than 190 people were injured.

The Ministry said local railway bureaux in various cities around the country such as north-western Urumqi, south-western Kunming, Harbin in the north-east and elsewhere had already begun safety checks.

The accident was the latest blow to China’s bullet train ambitions. Designed to show off the country’s rising wealth and technological prowess, the project has national prestige on par with China’s space programme but rapid expansion of the services has been dogged by concerns about safety, corruption scandals and criticism that tickets are too expensive for ordinary Chinese.

The safety campaign announcement comes amid rising public anger and suspicion over the cause of the crash and the government’s handling of the aftermath.

The sacking of three top officials at the Shanghai Railway Bureau did little to quell criticism the government is more concerned with resuming operations than with the loss of life.

Under particular scrutiny has been the authorities’ handling of the wreckage from the crash. Chinese reporters and bloggers have questioned the apparently quick decision to clean up the crash site. Images of excavators pushing the wreckage into pits circulated widely on the internet, triggering speculation that the burial was an attempt to cover up evidence.

However, yesterday workers were still using excavators to dismantle the damaged carriages, parts of which were removed for further investigation.