Multiple dangerous incidents along regional railway tracks revealed
Advertising billboards along railway tracks that pose potential safety hazards are dismantled.
Thirteen incidents that threatened safe rail operations in the Yangtze River Delta region this year were revealed on Thursday.
Among them, four involved illegal construction and five concerned objects falling onto rail tracks or networks, according to officials at the Shanghai railway safety supervision and management office.
Seven incidents occurred in Zhejiang Province, four in Anhui Province and two in Jiangsu Province.
Wenzhou Zhuohang Transportation broke a railway signal cable in May during work on a greenery project undertaken without approval in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, disrupting the operation of the Hangzhou-Shenzhen Railway.
In another May incident, combustible items exploded during a welding operation near a railroad embankment at Xinyi Plastics Factory's plant in Jiangdu City, Jiangsu Province, threatening the safe operation of the Nanjing-Qidong Railway.
In June, Banglian Environmental Protection and Renewable Resources caused sound barrier components to fall onto the Beijing-Shanghai Railway during dismantling work in Suzhou, Anhui Province, which struck a moving train, severely jeopardizing its operation.
In October, three primary and middle school students put stones on railway tracks at the Fanchang Station in Anhui while playing there, seriously threatening the safe operation of trains.
A concrete pump truck damaged the protective structures of a railway bridge in the same month, disrupting the operation of the Nanjing-Qidong Railway for more than 12 hours.
In March, a dust prevention screen was blown onto the railway network during construction work by Bozhou Construction Engineering in Bozhou, Anhui Province, disrupting the operation of the Shangqiu-Hefei-Hangzhou High-Speed Railway.
Railway safety supervision and management authorities have ordered relevant governments and companies to make rectification.
In some cases, lawsuits have been filed by the China Railway Shanghai Group against those responsible.
Laws and regulations to guarantee the safe operation of railways are being drafted in Shanghai, as well as in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces.
