Wenzhou train collision

Wenzhou train collision

An image of the wreck; after the collision, four cars of the rear train fell off the Ou River bridge, slamming into the ground more than 20 m (66 ft) below
Date	Saturday, 23 July 2011
Time	20:34 CST (UTC+08:00)
Location	Lucheng District, Wenzhou, Zhejiang
Coordinates	28°00′48″N 120°35′24″E / 28.01333°N 120.59000°E / 28.01333; 120.59000Coordinates: 28°00′48″N 120°35′24″E / 28.01333°N 120.59000°E / 28.01333; 120.59000
Country	China
Rail line	Ningbo–Taizhou–Wenzhou Railway Part of Hangzhou–Fuzhou–Shenzhen PDL
Operator	China Railway High-speed
Type of incident	Collision, derailment
Cause	Railway signal failure
Statistics
Trains	2
Passengers	1,630
Deaths	40
Injuries	More than 210 people
Yongtaiwen Railway route map (simplified)  Hangyong PDL to Hangzhou East (u.c.)  Xiaoyong Railway to Hangzhou South Ningbo (refurbishing) Ningbo East km 0 Yongjia Ou River ↓Direction of D301 and D3115 Jinwen Railway 14 Crash site 18 Wenzhou South  Wenfu Railway to Fuzhou South and Fuzhou

On 23 July 2011, two high-speed trains travelling on the Yongtaiwen railway line collided on a viaduct in the suburbs of Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, China. The two trains derailed each other, and four cars fell off the viaduct. 40 people were killed, at least 192 were injured, 12 of which were severe injuries. Officials responded to the accident by hastily concluding rescue operations and ordering the burial of the derailed cars. These actions elicited strong criticism from Chinese media and online communities. In response, the government issued directives to restrict media coverage, which was met with limited compliance, even on state-owned networks.

The collision was the first fatal crash involving high-speed rail (HSR) in China, and is the third-deadliest HSR accident in history, after the 1998 Eschede train disaster in Germany and 2013 Santiago de Compostela rail disaster in Spain. High speed was not a factor in the accident, however, since neither train was moving faster than 99 km/h (62 mph), a moderate speed for a passenger train.

The accident, the first of its kind, had a profound impact on the development of high-speed rail in China. Public confidence in high-speed rail eroded, leading to lower ridership. Construction of high-speed rail lines in China was temporarily suspended as the accident was under investigation. Speeds on other major high-speed rail lines in China were reduced. China's reputation in high-speed railway technology was scrutinized internationally.

In response to the accident, Railways minister Sheng Guangzu announced a comprehensive two-month railway safety review. The official investigation completed in December 2011 blamed faulty signal systems which failed to warn the second train of the stationary first train on the same track, as well as a series of management failures on the part of railway officials in carrying out due procedure.