2008 China Railways train T195 accident
Encyclopedia
The Zibo train collision was a major train collision
that occurred on the morning of April 28, 2008, near the city of Zibo
, in Shandong province, People's Republic of China
. The accident occurred on the Jiaoji Railway
, which links the important cities of Qingdao
and Jinan
in Shandong province. With a death toll of 72 people and 416 injuries, the collision was the deadliest rail accident in the People's Republic of China
since a 1997 accident in Hunan
.
. The accident gained international attention as Beijing
was preparing to host the 2008 Olympics, and occurred during the Olympic torch relay. It was notable also as the deadliest accident of China's railway system since an accident in Hunan in April 1997. It was the second accident on the Jiaoji Railway
line during 2008, the first involving a train that killed 18 railway workers in January.
to Sifang railway station
in Qingdao
. It derailed at 04:38 China Standard Time (CST) on the inside (left) track around a bend due to excessive speed, at around 500 meters east of Wangcun Railway Station. In all, carriages No. 10-18 derailed on the scene. Those in carriages 1–9 were relatively unaffected. Train 5034 was a regular passenger train from Yantai
destined for Xuzhou
, coming from the other direction on the outside track at the regulated speed of 80 km/h. As the derailment of T195 became visible to the drivers, it was too late to stop the train. Train 5034 collided with the derailed cars at the K290+940 meters mileage marker on the double track
ed Jiaoji Railway
at approximately 04:41 CST, three minutes after the derailment of T195. At this point, cars 9-16 of T195 derailed and blocked the parallel track that Train 5034 was on. The first three cars of Train 5034 reportedly fell into a ditch.
As Train T195 derailed, it turned 90 degrees on its side. As most people were asleep during the time of the derailment, some only became aware after the incident had occurred. As passengers exited, many around the area were making frantic calls on their mobile telephones, temporarily causing the malfunction of the local telephone network.
The accident caused 72 fatalities and 416 injuries. It occurred when train T195 was on a section of the railway track undergoing maintenance ahead of the 2008 Olympics
. The section was a temporary railway and the speed limit was 80 km/h (49.7 mph), but T195 was traveling at 131 km/h (81.4 mph).
sent out 130 ambulance vehicles to the site of the accident and activated 34 medical stations. Some 700 medical personnel were on site. CPC General-secretary, President Hu Jintao
and Premier Wen Jiabao
both released directives after the accident occurred, and sent Vice-Premier Zhang Dejiang
to inspect rescue and investigation efforts. Wang Jun
, as head of the State Administration of Work Safety
was named head of the investigation committee. Liu Zhijun
, the Railways Minister, alongside Shandong party secretary Jiang Yikang
and Governor Jiang Daming
were also on-site.
China's Guangming Daily
blamed the crash on "holes in the management of the Jiaoji Railway
", stating that it is "highly unlikely" that two accidents can occur on the same railway three to four months apart. The Financial Times
remarked that although the accident would be blamed on human error
, it was likely that funding shortfalls played a role.
On May 26, 2009, the State Council
issued the investigative report on the accident. A total of 37 people were found to be partly responsible for the accident. The executive vice-director of the Jinan Railway Bureau and six others were subject to criminal charges, and 31 other related personnel were accorded some sort of disciplinary action. Of these, Chen Gongxing, manager of the Jinan Railway Bureau, was dismissed; Chai Tiemin, the party chief of the Bureau, was also sacked.
Train wreck
A train wreck or train crash is a type of disaster involving one or more trains. Train wrecks often occur as a result of miscommunication, as when a moving train meets another train on the same track; or an accident, such as when a train wheel jumps off a track in a derailment; or when a boiler...
that occurred on the morning of April 28, 2008, near the city of Zibo
Zibo
Zibo is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the west, Laiwu and Tai'an to the southwest, Linyi to the south, Weifang to the east, Dongying to the northeast, and Binzhou the north.Located in the middle part...
, in Shandong province, People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. The accident occurred on the Jiaoji Railway
Jiaoji railway
The Jiaozhou–Jinan Railway or Jiaoji Railway is railway in Shandong Province, China. The railway is 440.7km in length and connects Qingdao, on the Jiaozhou Bay, and Jinan, the provincial capital of Shandong...
, which links the important cities of Qingdao
Qingdao
' also known in the West by its postal map spelling Tsingtao, is a major city with a population of over 8.715 million in eastern Shandong province, Eastern China. Its built up area, made of 7 urban districts plus Jimo city, is home to about 4,346,000 inhabitants in 2010.It borders Yantai to the...
and Jinan
Jinan
Jinan is the capital of Shandong province in Eastern China. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of the region from the earliest beginnings of civilisation and has evolved into a major national administrative, economic, and transportation hub...
in Shandong province. With a death toll of 72 people and 416 injuries, the collision was the deadliest rail accident in the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
since a 1997 accident in Hunan
Hunan
' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
.
Context
The Jiaoji railway is a trunk line that is about a century old, built originally by Germans in the area during the late Qing DynastyQing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
. The accident gained international attention as Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
was preparing to host the 2008 Olympics, and occurred during the Olympic torch relay. It was notable also as the deadliest accident of China's railway system since an accident in Hunan in April 1997. It was the second accident on the Jiaoji Railway
Jiaoji railway
The Jiaozhou–Jinan Railway or Jiaoji Railway is railway in Shandong Province, China. The railway is 440.7km in length and connects Qingdao, on the Jiaozhou Bay, and Jinan, the provincial capital of Shandong...
line during 2008, the first involving a train that killed 18 railway workers in January.
Synopsis
Train T195 was an express passenger train from BeijingBeijing railway station
Beijing Railway Station is one of Beijing's railway stations, opened in the 1950s, as can be seen from its architecture . It is located in the city's central location, just next to Jianguomen, and is within the confines of the city's 2nd Ring Road...
to Sifang railway station
Sifang railway station
Sifang Railway Station is a railway station in Qingdao, Shandong in the People's Republic of China. Until August 2008, because the larger Qingdao Railway Station was undergoing renovations, the railway station in Qingdao's Sifang District served as Qingdao's primary railway station.-References:*...
in Qingdao
Qingdao
' also known in the West by its postal map spelling Tsingtao, is a major city with a population of over 8.715 million in eastern Shandong province, Eastern China. Its built up area, made of 7 urban districts plus Jimo city, is home to about 4,346,000 inhabitants in 2010.It borders Yantai to the...
. It derailed at 04:38 China Standard Time (CST) on the inside (left) track around a bend due to excessive speed, at around 500 meters east of Wangcun Railway Station. In all, carriages No. 10-18 derailed on the scene. Those in carriages 1–9 were relatively unaffected. Train 5034 was a regular passenger train from Yantai
Yantai
Yantai is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. Located on the southern coast of the Bohai Sea and the eastern coast of the Laizhou Bay, Yantai borders the cities of Qingdao and Weihai to the southwest and east respectively.The largest fishing...
destined for Xuzhou
Xuzhou
Xuzhou , otherwise known as Pengcheng in ancient times, is a major city in and the fourth largest prefecture-level city of Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China...
, coming from the other direction on the outside track at the regulated speed of 80 km/h. As the derailment of T195 became visible to the drivers, it was too late to stop the train. Train 5034 collided with the derailed cars at the K290+940 meters mileage marker on the double track
Double track
A double track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.- Overview :...
ed Jiaoji Railway
Jiaoji railway
The Jiaozhou–Jinan Railway or Jiaoji Railway is railway in Shandong Province, China. The railway is 440.7km in length and connects Qingdao, on the Jiaozhou Bay, and Jinan, the provincial capital of Shandong...
at approximately 04:41 CST, three minutes after the derailment of T195. At this point, cars 9-16 of T195 derailed and blocked the parallel track that Train 5034 was on. The first three cars of Train 5034 reportedly fell into a ditch.
As Train T195 derailed, it turned 90 degrees on its side. As most people were asleep during the time of the derailment, some only became aware after the incident had occurred. As passengers exited, many around the area were making frantic calls on their mobile telephones, temporarily causing the malfunction of the local telephone network.
The accident caused 72 fatalities and 416 injuries. It occurred when train T195 was on a section of the railway track undergoing maintenance ahead of the 2008 Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
. The section was a temporary railway and the speed limit was 80 km/h (49.7 mph), but T195 was traveling at 131 km/h (81.4 mph).
Timeline
- March 2008 – Jinan Railway BureauJinan Railway BureauJinan Railway Bureau is a railway bureau under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Railways of the People's Republic of China. It supervises the railway network within Shandong Province. It is in charge of the railway with total length of 8,283.9 kilometers, and consists of 295 railway stations....
issued traffic control command number 4240, limiting the speed of Jiaoji railway K290+784 – K293+780 temporarily to 80 km/h. - April 23 – Jinan railway bureau issued traffic control file number 154, changing the railroad territory from April 28, changing the speed limit K290+784 – K293+780 from temporary to long-term limit. This file was only published on Jinan railway bureau's website and delivered by a relatively slow post mail, and Beijing Railway BureauBeijing Railway BureauBeijing Railway Bureau is a regional railway bureau under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Railway of the People's Republic of China. It supervises the railway network within Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Provinces. The Beijing Railway Bureau also operates and supervises the expansion of the Beijing...
was in the cc. list. - April 26 – Jinan railway bureau issued traffic control command number 4158, canceling temporary traffic control commands that were previously issued including command 4240. This command arrived earlier than file 154, so that the speed limit for train T195 in that section of railway was restored to 140 km/h.
- The driver of train 2245 reported to the duty man in Zhoucun railway station about the conflict between the command and the file.
- April 28 ~02:30 – Lu Min, the director in duty of Jinan west train schedule duty room, reported to the scheduler in duty, the train 2557's driver noticed the speed limit sign was 80 km/h while the LKJ transport monitor on train displayed as 120 km/h when he was passing downRailroad directionsRailroad directions are used to describe train directions on railroad systems. The terms used may be derived from such sources as compass directions, altitude directions, or other directions...
Zhoucun–Wangcun in K293+780M–K290+784M. - April 28 ~02:35 – Pu Xiaojun, the train scheduler in duty, immediately telephoned Wu Haichun, the director in duty of Jinan Jinan locomotive terminal about the speed limit. Wu Haichun said, the train 2245's driver had also reported to him about the problem. The scheduler asked about the speed limit in transport monitor, but Wu said he did not know because the one who is able to change the chip is not directed by the locomotive terminal, but by the electrical terminal.
- April 28 ~02:40 – The scheduler told to the driver of the next train, train 5025, when passing the railway section, if the speed limit shown by the signal is different from the speed limit in train's LKJ (Cab signallingCab signallingCab signalling is a railway safety system that communicates track status information to the cab, crew compartment or driver's compartment of a locomotive, railcar or multiple unit, where the train driver or engine driver can see the information....
) monitor, passing the section at speed of 80 km/h. - April 28 ~03:00 – Pu Xiaojun, the scheduler in duty, asked Zhoucun East and Wangcun stations' schedulers to tell train drivers for "up and down" directions, passing the railway section still under the requirement of commands 4240 and 4241 at 80 km/h.
- April 28 ~03:50 – Sui Fuhai, another scheduler in duty, asked train T25's driver what the speed limit was between Wangcun and Zhoucun East. The driver had not passed that section, so he told the scheduler he did not know about it. Then Sui asked the driver to limit the speed to 80 km/h there. When the train passed, the driver told the scheduler the onboard system was shown as limited to 145 km/h there.
- April 28 ~03:55 – Sui Fuhai asked, "Hello, T195's driver. Do you have the speed limit of Zhoucun east to Wangcun downward line?", the driver replied, "Where?" Sui said, "Between Wangcun and Zhoucun east," The driver said, "I have the limit between Wangcun and Zhoucun east," Sui said, "You have it, haven't you?" The driver confirmed, "Yes, (as in command) 4241," Sui said, "4241 or 4240?" T195's driver said, "4240." Since train T195 was late, Sui asked the driver to drive faster, "Do rush on the way." The driver confirmed.
- April 28 04:02 – Jinan railway bureau issued command 4444 to reaffirm 80 km/h speed limit of railway K290+784 – K293+780, but the traffic control command was not sent to train T195.
- April 28 05:30 after the accident – For understanding the cause of the accident, scheduler Pu Xiaojun asked Wangcun station's scheduler Zhang Fasheng, where he sent the control command to the driver, and he said it had been sent.
Response
The city of ZiboZibo
Zibo is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the west, Laiwu and Tai'an to the southwest, Linyi to the south, Weifang to the east, Dongying to the northeast, and Binzhou the north.Located in the middle part...
sent out 130 ambulance vehicles to the site of the accident and activated 34 medical stations. Some 700 medical personnel were on site. CPC General-secretary, President Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao is the current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...
and Premier Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao is the sixth and current Premier and Party secretary of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, serving as China's head of government and leading its cabinet. In his capacity as Premier, Wen is regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic policy...
both released directives after the accident occurred, and sent Vice-Premier Zhang Dejiang
Zhang Dejiang
Zhang Dejiang is a current Vice-Premier and a prominent leader of the Communist Party of China, a member of its Politburo.-Biography:Zhang, a native of Tai'an, Liaoning, attended Yanbian University, where he studied the Korean language. Beginning in August 1978 Zhang attended Kim Il-sung...
to inspect rescue and investigation efforts. Wang Jun
Wang Jun (PRC politician)
Wang Jun is a politician of the People's Republic of China. He was the President and Party chief of the State Administration of Work Safety and was appointed as the acting Governor of Shanxi in September 2008. He became governor in January 2009.-Biography:...
, as head of the State Administration of Work Safety
State Administration of Work Safety
The State Administration of Work Safety , reporting to the State Council, is the non-ministerial agency of the Government of the People's Republic of China responsible for the regulation of risks to occupational safety and health in China....
was named head of the investigation committee. Liu Zhijun
Liu Zhijun
Liu Zhijun is a Chinese politician. He was the Minister of Railways in the People's Republic of China from 2003 to 2011. He was removed from the party chief of the ministry on February 12, 2011, and from office in the 11th NPC Standing Committee's 19th meeting on February 25 because of allegations...
, the Railways Minister, alongside Shandong party secretary Jiang Yikang
Jiang Yikang
Jiang Yikang is the current secretary of the Communist Party of China Shandong committee.-Biography:Jiang was born in Zhaoyuan, Shandong Province. He started working in December 1967, and joined the CPC in December 1970...
and Governor Jiang Daming
Jiang Daming
Jiang Daming is a politician of the People's Republic of China, and the current governor of Shandong province. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1976, and in 1982 received a doctorate in philosophy from Heilongjiang University...
were also on-site.
China's Guangming Daily
Guangming Daily (China)
The Guangming Daily was launched on June 16, 1949 by the China Democratic League, and is a nationwide comprehensive newspaper based in Beijing. Its sponsorship was shifted to various democratic parties in China and the China Federation of Industry and Commerce in 1953...
blamed the crash on "holes in the management of the Jiaoji Railway
Jiaoji railway
The Jiaozhou–Jinan Railway or Jiaoji Railway is railway in Shandong Province, China. The railway is 440.7km in length and connects Qingdao, on the Jiaozhou Bay, and Jinan, the provincial capital of Shandong...
", stating that it is "highly unlikely" that two accidents can occur on the same railway three to four months apart. The Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
remarked that although the accident would be blamed on human error
Human Error
Human Error is the stage name of Rafał Kuczynski , a polish electronic musician, working mostly in the ambient music genre, produced only with a computer...
, it was likely that funding shortfalls played a role.
On May 26, 2009, the State Council
State Council of the People's Republic of China
The State Council of the People's Republic of China , which is largely synonymous with the Central People's Government after 1954, is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the Premier and includes the heads of each governmental department and agency...
issued the investigative report on the accident. A total of 37 people were found to be partly responsible for the accident. The executive vice-director of the Jinan Railway Bureau and six others were subject to criminal charges, and 31 other related personnel were accorded some sort of disciplinary action. Of these, Chen Gongxing, manager of the Jinan Railway Bureau, was dismissed; Chai Tiemin, the party chief of the Bureau, was also sacked.