MCLC: 54 officials blamed for train crash

Denton, Kirk denton.2 at osu.edu
Wed Dec 28 10:52:15 EST 2011


MCLC LIST
From: kirk (denton.2 at osu.edu)
Subject: 54 officials blamed for train crash
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Source: NYT (12/28/11):
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/12/28/world/asia/AP-AS-China-Bullet-Tr
ain-Crash.html

China Blames 54 Officials for Bullet Train Crash
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BEIJING (AP) ‹ A long-awaited government report said design flaws and
sloppy management caused a bullet train crash in July that killed 40
people and triggered a public outcry over the dangers of China's showcase
transportation system.

A former railway minister was among 54 officials found responsible for the
crash, a Cabinet statement said Wednesday. Several were ordered dismissed
from Communist Party posts but there was no word of possible criminal
penalties.

The crash report was highly anticipated. The disaster near the southern
city of Wenzhou also injured 177 people and had triggered criticism over
the high cost and dangers of the bullet train system, a prestige project
that once enjoyed lofty status on a level with China's manned space
program.

Regulations had required the report to be released by Nov. 20. When that
date passed, the government offered little explanation, drawing renewed
criticism by state media, which have been unusually skeptical about the
handling of the accident and the investigation.

The Cabinet 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 affirmed earlier government 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 to keep moving on the same track
and slam into it.

Those singled out for blame included former Minister of Railways Liu
Zhijun, a bullet train booster who was detained in February amid a graft
investigation. Also criticized was the general manager of the company that
manufactured the signal, who died of a heart attack while talking to
investigators in August.

The decision to assign blame to one figure who already has been jailed and
another who is dead, along with mid-level managers who have been fired,
suggests further political fallout will be limited.

Several officials including a former Communist Party secretary of the
Shanghai Railway Bureau were ordered dismissed from their party posts, a
penalty that is likely to end their career advancement. Others received
official reprimands but there was no mention of possible criminal charges.

The bullet train, based on German and Japanese systems, is one facet of
far-reaching government technology ambitions that call for developing a
civilian jetliner, a Chinese mobile phone standard and advances in areas
from nuclear power to genetics.

The bullet train system quickly grew to be the world's biggest but has
suffered embarrassing setbacks. After the Wenzhou crash, 54 trains used on
the Beijing-to-Shanghai line were recalled for repairs following delays
caused by equipment failures.

Critics complain authorities have spent too much on high-speed lines while
failing to invest enough in expanding cheaper, slower routes to serve
China's poor majority.

Beijing is rapidly expanding China's 56,000-mile (91,000-kilometer) rail
network, which is overloaded with passengers and cargo. But it has scaled
back plans amid concern about whether the railway ministry can repay its
mounting debts.

On Friday, the current railways minister, Sheng Guangzu, announced railway
construction spending next year will be cut to about 400 billion yuan ($65
billion), down from this year's projected 469 billion yuan ($75 billion).

A failure to expand rail capacity could choke economic growth because
exporters away from China's coast rely on rail to get goods to ports.

The rail ministry's reported debt is 2 trillion yuan ($300 billion).
Analysts say its revenues are insufficient to repay that. That has
prompted concern the ministry might need to be bailed out by Chinese
taxpayers.





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