A brake failure caused the train collision on Monday in central China that left 3 people dead. The finding was announced by the investigation team on Tuesday.
The investigation team was led by Liang Jiakun, deputy director of the State Administration of Work Safety. Liang said railway transport safety has had a good record in recent years, but Monday's accident sounded a warning to the railways.
An official from the Guangzhou Railway Bureau said brake failure had caused train K9017 to collide with another train at Chenzhou station, in Hunan Province.
It sped into a turning point and broke the rails. The train continued through a red light at 55 kilometers per hour and collided into the side of train K9063.
The impact drove both engines and a total of six carriages off the tracks, leaving three dead and 63 injured, including six seriously hurt.
Chen Lanhua,direcotr of Work Safety Department, Ministry of Railways, said, "We will thoroughly investigate the collision and learn a lesson from the accident. Other details are still under investigation."
The carriages which were involved in collision have been cleared and the damaged rails have been repaired. Service in both directions of the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway line has resumed.
Meanwhile, all of the injured were rescued and taken to nearby hospitals.
Two seriously injured people are under treatment in Chenzhou's Fourth hospital.
One patient suffered head injuries and another a damaged liver. After emergency operations, the two are now in a stable condition.
The other 42 slightly injured passengers also remain in the hospital. So far, all in a stable condition.
(CCTV July 1, 2009)
