2008 China Railways train T195 accident

The China Railway train T195 accident was a major train collision that occurred on the morning of April 28, 2008, between Wangcun and Zhoucun, near Zibo, in Shandong province, People's Republic of China.

Train T195 from Beijing to Sifang railway station in Qingdao derailed at 04:38 China Standard Time (CST) on the inside (left) track around a bend and train 5034 from Yantai to Xuzhou, coming from the other direction on the outside track, collided with it at the K290+940 meters mileage marker on the double tracked Jiaoji Railway at approximately 04:41 CST. Contrary to earlier reports, this was not a head-on collision.

The accident caused 72 fatalities [cite news| language=zh| url=http://news.163.com/08/0503/00/4AVRQBG40001124J.html| title=Death Toll Rose to 72 in Shandong Train Accident| publisher=163.com| date=May 03, 2008| ] and 416 injuries. [cite web| work=The Guardian| title=China says 70 dead in train crash| url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/28/china.railtravel| accessdate=2008-04-28| ] [ [http://www.railpage.com.au/f-t11340850.htm [China Two trains collide in Zibo - Railpage Australia™ Forums (East and South East Asia) ] ] It occurred when train T195 was on a section of the railway track undergoing maintenance ahead of the 2008 Olympics. [ [http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iNun7cCsAgqVWlnBl9CgQKejn5bg AFP: China rail accident linked to Olympic construction: official ] ] The section was a temporary railway and the speed limit was convert|80|km/h|abbr=on, but T195 was traveling at convert|131|km/h|abbr=on.cite news| work=Reuters| title=China train crash kills 70 and injures hundreds| url=http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSPEK34967020080428| accessdate=2008-04-28| ] Cars 9-16 of T195 derailed and blocked the parallel track that Train 5034 was on. Train 5034 then crashed into the derailed T195's wreckage some 3 minutes later and its first three cars fell into a ditch.

This collision was the deadliest rail accident in China since a 1997 accident in Hunan.

Timeline

* March 2008 – Jinan railway bureau 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 working diagram 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 bureau 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 down 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 scheduled 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 show on the signal is different from the speed limit in train's LKJ (Cab signalling) 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 and behind schedule, Sui asked the driver to drive faster, "Do rush on the way." The driver confirmed.
* April 28 04:02 – Jinan railway bureau issued command 4443 and 4443 according to Jinan railway transport mail File [2008] No. 154, required to recheck the speed limit, 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.

See also

*List of rail accidents

References