The Wenzhou High-Speed Train Collision
On the evening of 23 July 2011, train D301 ran at 99 km/h into the back of train D3115, which was crawling forward after a signal fault, on the Wenzhou section of the Yongtaiwen railway; several cars of D301 derailed and some fell from the viaduct, killing 40 people and injuring 172. The discovery of a surviving child after the search had reportedly ended, the burial pit dug for the locomotive and a railway spokesman's remark "Whether you believe it or not, I do" provoked intense public criticism. The State Council investigation attributed the crash to serious design flaws in the train control equipment, lax review before it entered service and poor emergency handling after a lightning strike, proposed action against 54 people and found former railway minister Liu Zhijun bore primary leadership responsibility.
The Collision
At about 19:30 on 23 July 2011, lightning blew a fuse in the LKD2-T1 train control center equipment at Wenzhou South station on the Yongtaiwen railway. Because the equipment had a serious design flaw, it went on operating as if the track section were still unoccupied, as it had been before the fuse blew, even after a train entered it, so the signals wrongly stayed green.
Train D3115 from Hangzhou to Fuzhou South, carrying 1,072 passengers, was stopped by automatic braking between Yongjia and Wenzhou South because of a track circuit fault, and only after 7 minutes 40 seconds did it switch to line-of-sight mode and move forward at under 20 km/h. Meanwhile the dispatcher, following the rules, ordered train D301 from Beijing South to Fuzhou, carrying 558 passengers, to leave Yongjia. At 20:30:05 D301, traveling at 99 km/h, ran into the back of D3115 on the Oujiang River bridge. The first five cars of D301 derailed: the second and third fell from the bridge, the fourth was left hanging, and the body of the first car, the locomotive, was scattered below. The accident killed 40 people, including D301's driver Pan Yiheng, and injured 172; the line was closed for 32 hours 35 minutes and direct economic losses came to about 194 million yuan.
Rescue and the Handling Controversy
Villagers from nearby Shuangyu Xia'ao rushed to help. Early on the 24th some media reported that the search at the site "had ended"; at 17:15 that day rescuers on the bridge pulled two-and-a-half-year-old Xiang Weiyi from the 16th car of D3115. The handling of the wrecked locomotive drew widespread suspicion: an Oriental Morning Post reporter at the scene reported that D301's locomotive had been buried in a pit on the spot and was dug up and taken away late on the 26th, while the State Council investigation report found that Shanghai Railway Bureau officials had had a pit dug to bury the locomotive and debris, following past practice, but were stopped by senior officials, so that the locomotive was never buried. The line reopened on the morning of the 25th.
At the Ministry of Railways' first press conference, at 22:43 on the 24th, spokesman Wang Yongping called the girl's survival "a miracle of life" and, asked about the burial of the locomotive, said, "Whether you believe it or not, I do," provoking strong criticism. On 16 August the ministry announced that Wang had been suspended.
The Central Government's Response
On 24 July Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang led officials to the site. On the 25th the State Council set up an investigation team headed by the director of the State Administration of Work Safety. On the 28th Premier Wen Jiabao visited the site, paid tribute to the victims and answered questions from Chinese and foreign reporters. On the 29th the rescue and aftermath headquarters, invoking the Tort Liability Law, raised compensation and assistance for each person killed from the 500,000 yuan provisionally agreed with some families to 915,000 yuan. On 10 August a State Council executive meeting ordered a major safety inspection of high-speed railways, moderately lower speeds on newly built high-speed lines in their initial operation, and a suspension of approvals for new railway projects.
The Investigation's Findings
On 28 December 2011 the State Administration of Work Safety published the investigation report, which found that the accident was one for which parties bore responsibility, caused by serious design flaws in the train control center equipment, lax review before it was put into service and poor emergency handling after lightning caused it to fail: the signal design institute's development work was chaotic, the Ministry of Railways had broken the rules in tendering, technical review and approval of the equipment, and Shanghai Railway Bureau staff had handled the fault poorly. The report proposed action against 54 people and found that former railway minister Liu Zhijun and Zhang Shuguang, former head of the ministry's transport bureau, bore primary leadership responsibility, recommending that they be dealt with in separate proceedings because they were suspected of serious economic crimes. It also faulted the ministry for releasing information late and responding inaccurately to public concerns.
Online Opinion and Research
The accident came two years after the launch of Sina Weibo. Passengers and rescuers posted calls for help and news from the scene, and large numbers of internet users went on to question the rescue, the handling of the locomotive and the cause of the crash. Maria Bondes and Günter Schucher of the German Institute for Global and Area Studies analyzed more than 4,600 posts and describe the episode as the largest "online mass incident" in China since microblogging services appeared in 2009.
Narrative Comparison
| Source | Narrative |
|---|---|
| State Council investigation report on the 7·23 accident (December 2011) | The investigation report found that the accident was one for which parties bore responsibility, caused by serious design flaws in the train control equipment, lax review before it entered service and poor emergency handling after lightning caused it to fail, and it ruled out sabotage. It proposed action against 54 people in accordance with laws and regulations, and acknowledged that the Ministry of Railways' emergency plans were inadequate, that it released information late and responded inaccurately to public concerns, and that "digging a pit at the site to bury the damaged locomotive and debris, though stopped, had a bad effect on society." The report called for firmly establishing a people-centered approach to safe development, strict safety vetting of high-speed rail equipment, and better planning and coordination of high-speed rail development. |
| Maria Bondes and Günter Schucher, Information, Communication & Society (2014) | Bondes and Schucher treat the online debate after the Wenzhou crash as the largest "online mass incident" in China since microblogging services appeared in 2009. Through a systematic content analysis of more than 4,600 posts, examining the composition, transformation and radicalization of claims and targets, they find that the incident's level of radicalism was rather moderate and that no radicalization took place before the debate died down; the incident significantly strengthened the tendency of Chinese online activism to broaden critical debate to national affairs, but they argue that expectations of a democratizing impact of online debate may be premature. |
| Passenger and crew accounts recorded by Xinhua (27 July 2011) | Jiang Xiaomei, the conductor of D3115, recalled being "thrown to the floor" by the impact as the power went out; when she reached the driver's cab she found the driver gone, and then heard the train mechanic on the radio: "The rear has been hit, come to the rear quickly and organize able-bodied passengers to help with the rescue." Zeng Taiying, a passenger in the second car of D301, said she felt the car roll to the left at the moment of impact and came to with the car already lying on the ground below the viaduct; she phoned her husband: "The train has derailed, I've fallen, save me!" The report also describes passengers forming a human chain on the viaduct to help the elderly, children and injured to safety, and lightly injured passengers in the fallen cars forming human ladders to pull others out. |
Key Milestones
- D301 rams D3115 near Wenzhou
At 20:30:05 D301, traveling at 99 km/h, runs into the back of D3115 crawling across the Oujiang River bridge; 40 people are killed and 172 injured.
- Xiang Weiyi rescued; Railway Ministry holds first press conference
At 17:15 two-and-a-half-year-old Xiang Weiyi is rescued from the 16th car of D3115; at 22:43 spokesman Wang Yongping holds the first press conference.
- State Council sets up investigation team
The State Council approves an investigation team for the accident, headed by the director of the State Administration of Work Safety.
- Wen Jiabao visits the site
Wen Jiabao inspects the site, pays tribute to the victims and answers questions from Chinese and foreign reporters.
- Compensation raised to 915,000 yuan per victim
The aftermath headquarters sets compensation and assistance at 915,000 yuan per person killed, based on the Tort Liability Law.
- State Council orders safety inspection and lower speeds
A State Council executive meeting orders a high-speed rail safety inspection, lower initial speeds on new lines and a suspension of approvals for new railway projects.
- Railway Ministry spokesman Wang Yongping suspended
The Ministry of Railways announces that spokesman Wang Yongping has been suspended.
- State Council investigation report published
The report finds that the accident was one for which parties bear responsibility, proposes action against 54 people and finds that Liu Zhijun and others bore primary leadership responsibility.
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