Chinese Bullet Trains Collide

[Silent1]

The BBC said:

The Hangzhou to Wenzhou train was close to its destination it hit the other train

At least 11 people have died and 89 people injured after two high-speed trains crashed into each other in eastern China, state media reports.

Two train coaches fell off a bridge after derailing close to Wenzhou in Zhejiang province.

Details are sketchy but Chinese media report that one of the trains came to a halt after being struck by lightning and was then hit by the second train.

Rescue workers are at the scene, near Shuangyu town in Wenzhou.

It is not known how many people were on the trains at the time, but Xinhua news agency says each carriage can carry 100 people.

Initial reports suggested one bullet train had derailed at about 2030 (1230 GMT) - the D3115 travelling from the provincial capital Hangzhou to Wenzhou.

But local television later said the first train had been forced to stop after losing power due to a lightning strike, and was then rear-ended by another train, causing two of its carriages to fall off the bridge.


"D" trains are the first generation of bullet trains in China, with an average speed of just short of 100mph (160km/h).

China is spending billions on constructing a high-speed rail network.

Last month China inaugurated its Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail link.

The 300 km/h (190mph) train halves the journey time to under five hours.

China is planning to roll out high-speed lines across the country.

But the project has come under fire for its high cost - the Beijing-Shanghai line cost 215bn yuan ($33bn; £21bn).

The BBC's Martin Patience in Beijing says there are also fears corruption has compromised safety in the network's construction.

Source

Tragic and bloody scary news, you would have thought that if they were spending the money on decent trains that they would fit systems to stop this happening.

[Parrot of Doom]

Take a close look at anything you buy that's "made in China". Quality isn't the word I'd use.

[Finlandia]

Parrot of Doom said:

Take a close look at anything you buy that's "made in China". Quality isn't the word I'd use.

That would be pretty much any electric gadget then

[RemainAllHoof]

1 thread containing 3 posts on this. 5 separate threads on Amy Winehouse. PH really is the Daily Mail.

[Apache]

I suppose that goes for French

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6391633.stm

German

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eschede_train_disaste...

and British

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/1999/oct/05/ladbrokeg...

trains then

[jbi]

Seems like ATP malfunction. The driver of D301 took emergency braking, his quick reactions saved many lives apparently.

Collision was at low speed (possibly around 30kph), but enough to push 2 carriages off the bridge.

[Silent1]

RemainAllHoof said:

1 thread containing 3 posts on this. 5 separate threads on Amy Winehouse. PH really is the Daily Mail.

Sad isn't it

[Shar2]

jbi said:

Seems like ATP malfunction. The driver of D301 took emergency braking, his quick reactions saved many lives apparently.

Collision was at low speed (possibly around 30kph), but enough to push 2 carriages off the bridge.

Shouldn't there be systems for this as well as having a driver? I don't know how many trains an hour they have on these tracks, but for this to happen surely the intervals are too short?

[The Machine Elf]

Shar2 said:

jbi said:

Seems like ATP malfunction.

Shouldn't there be systems for this as well as having a driver?

like ATP you mean?

[Apache]

If by ATP you mean advanced train protection then a 'malfunction' of any kind should result in a safe side failure so almost impossible to result in an accident by that alone, there's more to this as other systems such as TPWS and AWS (for example) should be operational too

[jbi]

Chinese HSR uses in-cab signalling, so when the first train failed it failed to send the stopping signals to the next train. Although theoretically speaking when the system detects one failed train it should stop all trains.

D3115 is under Nanchang bureau's supervision while D301 under Shanghai's supervision.

[davepoth]

jbi said:

D3115 is under Nanchang bureau's supervision while D301 under Shanghai's supervision.

Any idea as to whether there was a communication issue between the two?

[jbi]

davepoth said:

Any idea as to whether there was a communication issue between the two?

No information available yet, though it's a distinct possibility

[shakotan]

Parrot of Doom said:

Take a close look at anything you buy that's "made in China". Quality isn't the word I'd use.

Got any Apple products?

Chinese products vary in quality from the downright terrible to the sublime. It's all down to the brand and the quality specification.

Saying all Chines products are crap is like saying all hot food you can buy in the UK is crap because you ate a McDonalds once.

[ChiChoAndy]

Silent1 said:

RemainAllHoof said:

1 thread containing 3 posts on this. 5 separate threads on Amy Winehouse. PH really is the Daily Mail.

Sad isn't it

PH rails so much against the Daily Mail, and yet how many of the links are from the mail.

[Parrot of Doom]

shakotan said:

Got any Apple products?

No, I don't drive an S-line Audi either.

[Shuvi Tupya]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I imagine the accident would be much worse if it happened in a tunnel though..

[jbi]

actually in this case it looks like most deaths were caused by the violent fall off the bridge since the train impact speed was probably less than 20mph

[JMGS4]

Silent1 said:

you would have thought that if they were spending the money on decent trains that they would fit systems to stop this happening.

If you trust anything Chinese you'd be daft... they buy or steal technology, then manufacture it under slavery conditions after reducing the production costs by 90%. Preprogrammed suicide...
I certainly would never fly/drive/train in ANY chinese product....

To give you an example from my business; a chinese company offered me machine knives, sent me samples, and gave me a price which was ridiculously low. I tested the samples and as these were suspiciously good, I got them tested. The knives had been manufactured by one of my german partners (could tell from the steel recipe). The production knives arrived and were rejected as they were 1) out of tolerance, 2) wrong steel, 3) wrong hardness and 4) wrongly ground. When the chinese were challenged on the quality they claimed they were exactly the same as the samples sent. When the quality of my partners steel was mentioned they broke off all correspondance. Needless to say their worthless junk ended in the scrap bin!
Just remeber the chinese saying: business is war!!! and you'll not go wrong, they'll lie, cheat, steal, and be dishonest with ANYTHING!!!

Edited by JMGS4 on Sunday 24th July 08:27

[jbi]

JMGS4 said:

If you trust anything Chinese you'd be daft... they buy or steal technology, then manufacture it under slavery conditions after reducing the production costs by 90%. Preprogrammed suicide...
I certainly would never fly/drive/train in ANY chinese product....

Edited by JMGS4 on Sunday 24th July 08:27

It's an Asian cultural issue, and it's not confined to the Chinese

The Koreans and likewise the Japanese went through the same thing some years ago. But the like their richer neighbors, the Chinese will advance and improve on a similar path.

Look at hyundai/kia today

The Chinese are capable of producing anything as well as we can in the west, as long as they see it benefiting them.

As I.P and brand reputation starts to climb in importance and awareness, expect a similar increase in the availability of genuine quality products.