Official Cause of Wenzhou Train Collision Questioned
- 13 years ago
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As the deadly train crash that happened on Saturday in Wenzhou is being investigated, officials say that the collision was caused by defects in the train signals. But rail experts say that raises more concerns about the trains' safety mechanisms.
Defects in the design of the signal system have been blamed for the killer collision of two bullet trains last Saturday in Wenzhou, resulting in at least 39 deaths... at least, that's the official explanation. According to Shanghai Railway Bureau director An Lusheng, the signal system at the Wenzhou South station failed to turn the green lights into red, leading to the crash.
An also pointed out that the operator on-duty of the railway station's telecommunication and signaling department failed to foresee that wrong signals might be given after a lightning strike that happened shortly before the eight cars derailed.
But that explanation has raised questions. Engineering experts say if it's true, it means the trains were not properly equipped.
[Wu Wenxin, Automation Engineer]:
"When we're designing trains, the first carriage would be equipped with computers and other electronics, so in the design phase, we implement devices to prevent [any] interference from lightning. From a technical standpoint, if the cause was really lightning, then this means the electronics on the train were not properly protecting against it."
The fact that the second train failed to stop has also raised questions.
[Taiwan Rail Worker]:
"When designing the systems, we will maintain at least a three minute gap between two trains. This means the distance between them is over six miles. When this distance is reached, the automatic brake system would kick in, and the train behind will slow down."
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As the deadly train crash that happened on Saturday in Wenzhou is being investigated, officials say that the collision was caused by defects in the train signals. But rail experts say that raises more concerns about the trains' safety mechanisms.
Defects in the design of the signal system have been blamed for the killer collision of two bullet trains last Saturday in Wenzhou, resulting in at least 39 deaths... at least, that's the official explanation. According to Shanghai Railway Bureau director An Lusheng, the signal system at the Wenzhou South station failed to turn the green lights into red, leading to the crash.
An also pointed out that the operator on-duty of the railway station's telecommunication and signaling department failed to foresee that wrong signals might be given after a lightning strike that happened shortly before the eight cars derailed.
But that explanation has raised questions. Engineering experts say if it's true, it means the trains were not properly equipped.
[Wu Wenxin, Automation Engineer]:
"When we're designing trains, the first carriage would be equipped with computers and other electronics, so in the design phase, we implement devices to prevent [any] interference from lightning. From a technical standpoint, if the cause was really lightning, then this means the electronics on the train were not properly protecting against it."
The fact that the second train failed to stop has also raised questions.
[Taiwan Rail Worker]:
"When designing the systems, we will maintain at least a three minute gap between two trains. This means the distance between them is over six miles. When this distance is reached, the automatic brake system would kick in, and the train behind will slow down."