Chinese authorities have opened a formal inquiry after a test-run train collided with a group of railway workers in Kunming, Yunnan province, resulting in 11 deaths and two injuries. The incident occurred early Wednesday morning at Luoyang Town Station, where the train was conducting a trial of newly installed earthquake-detection technology.
Officials from Kunming Rail confirmed that the train was travelling through a curved section of track “under normal operating conditions” when it encountered maintenance personnel who had entered the line. Emergency responders from both the railway bureau and local government were immediately deployed, and the injured workers were taken for medical treatment.
Rail services at the station resumed later in the day, though officials emphasized that a comprehensive investigation is now underway to determine how workers were able to access an active test track.
China operates the world’s largest rail network, spanning more than 100,000 miles and transporting billions of passengers annually. Despite its reputation for efficiency, the system has experienced several high-profile accidents over the past decade.
One of the most notorious incidents occurred in 2011 near Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, when a signalling failure—triggered by lightning—caused a stalled train to remain undetected on the tracks. A high-speed train then collided with it, killing 40 people and injuring more than 200.
In 2021, nine track workers were killed in Gansu province when a freight train failed to stop in time during poor visibility conditions.
This month has also seen a series of serious rail accidents outside China. In the Czech Republic, at least 57 passengers were hospitalized after a high-speed train collided with another service near České Budějovice. Days later in Slovakia, around 100 people were injured when two trains carrying roughly 800 passengers crashed north of Bratislava.
In a separate incident, a high-speed train in another region struck a lorry that had become stuck on a level crossing, injuring five people and scattering cargo across the tracks.
The Kunming collision has renewed public discussion about rail-worker safety, particularly during maintenance operations and test runs—procedures that require strict coordination between on-site crews and control centers. Investigators are expected to review communication logs, safety protocols, and track clearance procedures as they assess what led to the tragedy.
Source:Africa Publicity
