SHANGHAI/BEIJING – China’s second-biggest train maker will recall 54 bullet trains used on the new showcase Beijing-Shanghai line for safety reasons, the firm said on Friday, dealing a fresh blow to the nation’s scandal-plagued rail system.
The recall of the trains by China CNR Corporation comes three weeks after 40 people were killed in a high-speed rail crash, that triggered public fury and a freeze on approvals for new railway projects.
China’s high-speed rail drive was until recently held up by senior government officials as a trophy of the nation’s technological prowess. Now it has become a political albatross, drawing scorn from many citizens long frustrated with the hulking railways ministry.
China’s microblog websites have served to amplify that public anger, and the recall drew more catcalls on Sina’s popular Weibo site (http://weibo.com).
“Wasn’t this locomotive the most advanced type, and put into use only after many tests? So how come the problems were discovered after they were put into operation? What a miracle,” wrote one Weibo user.
Officials blamed July’s crash first on a lightning strike and then on faulty signals technology. But yesterday, Chinese media quoted an investigator as saying the crash also exposed management failings and could have been avoided.
“There were serious flaws in the system design that led to an equipment failure,” said Luo Lin, the minister of China’s State Administration of Work Safety, who is leading the probe.
“At the same time, this exposed problems in emergency response and safety management after the failure occurred,” the Beijing Times cited Mr Luo as saying.
“This was a major accident involving culpability that could have been totally avoided,” he said.
As well as the embarrassment for the ruling Communist Party, the slowdown in high-speed rail building could bite into demand for steel, said UOB Kay Hian commodities analyst Helen Lau. – (Reuters)