Populist Chinese outrage over the train crash (more than legitimate)

[Sinister Cultural Marxist]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14354527


China rail crash families reject compensation offer

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/54353000/jpg/_54353983_012527993-1.jpg Many relatives of the dead and injured are angry at the authorities
Continue reading the main story (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14354527#story_continues_1) Related Stories



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The price of high-speed ambitions (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14321131)


Relatives of some of those killed in a major train crash in China are refusing to accept an offer of compensation from the government.
The 915,000 yuan ($142,000; £87,000) total is double the initial offer made to the families of the 40 victims.
There has been widespread anger at the official response to the disaster.
The crash happened when one train came to a standstill on a viaduct near the eastern city of Wenzhou, and another ploughed into it.
State media say that 10 families have accepted the compensation offer.
Lawyers warned Meanwhile local lawyers have been told to report to the authorities any relatives seeking legal advice, AFP news agency reported, citing the official Xinhua agency.
Law firms should not "unauthorisedly respond and handle the cases", because "the accident is a major sensitive issue concerning social stability", the lawyers are said to have been warned in a statement.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/54354000/jpg/_54354115_012528347-1.jpg Four carriages plunged from the viaduct
The crash has provoked much anger against the government, not just for its response, but also over its conduct in pushing for rapid development of high-speed train lines.
Many web users, and even some state-media outlets, have accused officials of putting economic development above the safety of the people.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who visited the crash site on Thursday, vowed to "severely punish" those responsible.
Reports from Hong Kong say the communist party has ordered the media to tone down its coverage.
The Hong Kong Journalists' association said the party's propaganda bureau has told newspapers to focus on positive coverage and stick to comments made by officials.
Flagship project Officials believe a faulty signal may have caused the crash. Four train carriages fell about 30m (100ft) from the viaduct.
On Friday, about two dozen relatives gathered at the crash site to lay flowers and burn incense.
The accident came four years after the opening of the country's first high-speed railway line - one of the government's flagship projects.
Rail experts had warned against the rush to build the world's longest and fastest high-speed rail network in record time amid safety concerns.
Critics of the government allege that corners were cut during construction because of corruption, raising questions about infrastructure across the country.


Their anger is more than legitimate. While the desire to develop is more than understandable, it is wrong to do so in such a reckless manner. It is worth it to take longer to complete a project, or spend just a little more money, at the benefit of added safety and reliability.

[Geiseric]

Wow, Deja Vu. Does anybody still call China Socialist?

[Sinister Cultural Marxist]

Wow, Deja Vu. Does anybody still call China Socialist?

There's one on this forum (http://www.revleft.com/vb/member.php?u=37477)

[S.Artesian]

I'm not sure that this crash indicates a case of "officials putting economic development above the safety of the people."

It might be a case of putting "performance" above safety and above economic development. After all, Japan has operated its bullet train service without a fatality for 47 years. The French, the TGV for almost 30 years, and both those services are the result of economic development and operate profitably [at least on paper].

I don't know what caused the collision in China, but I do know how railroad train control systems are supposed to function. China HSR or US Washington Metro [where a fatal collision occurred in 2009]-- the governing principle is the same-- safe separation of trains based on the signal control system registering the occupancy of a section of track by a train, and transmitting that information to following trains in the form of mandatory speed reductions.

These systems are designed so that in the event of damage or fault to the system, the system reverts to its "safe" condition-- meaning no movement is permitted, or only movements at a very restricted speed, generally 15-20 mph [20-30 km/hour] are permitted.

It looks to me that given the damage to the stopped train, the following train must have been operating at 100 mph [165 kmh]when the driver first spotted the stopped train [reports are that the driver had applied the brakes at max effort prior to collision] striking the train at least at 55 mph [90 kmh].

That means not only was the train control system inoperative, but that it had been disabled to allow the following train to operate at such speeds. Now did the central control office authorize disabling of the train control system on-board the following train?

In the Washington Metro crash, the train control system failed unsafely-- failed to register occupancy of the train that was struck from the rear. There was a design problem in the train detection component of the signal system. But this problem was known previously and reports of loss of occupancy had been made prior to the collision.

Don't ask me how those people then responsible for the safe operation of Washington Metro sleep at night, or face themselves in the mirror in the morning.