In light of the information currently available, the public has many questions regarding the time of the accident, its cause, the number of dead and injured, the rescue process, etc. These questions have continued to ferment online and await further investigation by relevant functional departments into the truth. Only after a clear understanding of these issues can we truly achieve what the spokesperson for the Ministry of Railways said: "to put the minds of ordinary people at ease."
1. Exactly when did the accident occur?
After the rear-end collision occurred, the official earliest published time of the accident was 20:34, but the next day it became 20:27, and on the third day it became 20:38.
Why does the time of the accident change every day? People inevitably have many questions about this, but relevant departments have not provided an explanation.
2. What equipment was damaged by the lightning strike?
Wang Yongping, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Railways, stated that preliminary investigations showed that the accident was caused by a lightning strike causing equipment failure. However, the official "lightning strike theory" has led to more questions from the public.
The focus of the questioning of the "lightning strike theory" is: exactly where did the "lightning strike" hit? Was the equipment damage caused by the lightning strike to the power equipment or the communication equipment? After train D3115 lost power, why was it unable to pass this information on to the following train and the entire railway network dispatching system?
Railway expert Sun Zhang stated that this indicates technical and management loopholes in the signaling system of the EMU (Electric Multiple Unit), which remains relatively fragile.
3. Where exactly is the "Automatic Block System"?
In 2007, the Ministry of Railways stated that China's self-developed Automatic Block System could control the safe intervals of multiple EMUs on the same railway line, preventing rear-end collisions.
According to Sun Zhang, the current EMU lines use interval blocking methods to prevent rear-end collisions. Simply put, the railway line is divided into several sections, each section being a block interval, allowing only one train to run within each interval. Signal lights are installed at the junctions of the intervals. If a train enters the interval, the signal is transmitted via the "track circuit," turning the signal light red, and both subsequent trains and the dispatch center will receive the red signal.
4. Why was D301 behind D3115?
According to the train schedule, the scheduled arrival time of train D3115 at Wenzhou South Station should have been 19:57, and the scheduled arrival time of train D301 at Wenzhou South Station should have been 19:42. There was a 15-minute driving interval between the two trains, with D301 in front and D3115 behind, so logically, a rear-end collision should not have occurred.
Given that the incident occurred around 20:27, and the incident location was 10 kilometers away from Wenzhou South Station, it can be inferred that both trains had been delayed due to weather conditions, with train D301 delayed longer than train D3115.
This means that the accident involved the delayed train D3115 being struck by the even more delayed train D301.
5. Why rush to restore traffic?
After the accident, the railway department issued consecutive statements indicating they would quickly complete the rescue operation and restore railway traffic.
This caused some netizens to express confusion. Some netizens commented that national leaders had stated that life rescue should be the top priority, so why were relevant departments in such a hurry to restore traffic before the accident scene had been fully cleared? "Is the possible life still inside the vehicle less important than economic interests?"
6. Why "digging pits and burying"?
Some journalists took pictures at the accident site showing pits being dug, leading many members of the public to believe that relevant authorities were trying to "cover up evidence." In response, a person from the Third Railway Engineering Bureau who participated in the cleanup work explained that the pits were not for burying dismantled carriages but rather as preparation for the upcoming lifting operations.
Ministry of Railways spokesperson Wang Yongping stated, "The emergency rescue environment on-site was very complex; below was a mud pond, making operations inconvenient. Additionally, other carriages needed to be handled, so they buried the locomotive under soil mainly to facilitate the rescue."
A section technology director from the Shanghai Railway Bureau told reporters that the cause of the accident could already be determined through the train's "black box" and track data information. "The carriages are of no help to the accident investigation; now they're just scrap metal. Clearing them away is part of our normal workflow."
Regarding this, netizen "Ye Ke Fei" said: "Can you properly clean up the belongings of the deceased and wait for their families to identify them instead of arbitrarily burying them? There might be clothes bought during shopping trips together, photos taken during outings... Even some may have recorded their last words using digital devices in their final moments. You cannot ensure our safety, but can you give the deceased some dignity?"
7. How many casualties are there exactly?
According to the official announcement, the accident resulted in 39 deaths and 192 injuries. It is estimated that if the four fallen carriages were fully loaded, there should have been about 400 passengers. However, the railway department has yet to disclose how many passengers were actually in those four carriages.
Regarding this, some questioned why the real-name system couldn't quickly function to promptly ascertain the total number of passengers in the accident carriage? Furthermore, if the total number isn't even clear, how can one know whether the "rescue operation is complete"?
8. Why were leaders dismissed so quickly?
At the press conference, a journalist asked, "Since the accident is still under investigation, why were leaders held accountable?" Wang Yongping replied that safety problems generated by high-speed rail require leaders to bear primary responsibility. The dismissal of three individuals, including Long Jing, Director of the Shanghai Railway Bureau, was aimed at putting the minds of ordinary people at ease.
9. How long does the "running-in period" need to be?
After the "July 23" accident, some experts mentioned the issue of the "running-in period," stating that China's high-speed rail and EMUs need a certain amount of time for trial operations to reach a state of safety and stability.
Previously, when frequent power outages occurred on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail, Ministry of Railways spokesperson Wang Yongping stated that malfunctions on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail were due to the initial opening phase, during the running-in period, where such situations were common. Identifying and resolving these issues required two to three months.
However, the Ningbo-Taizhou-Wenzhou railway, which started EMU services on September 28, 2009, has been operational for nearly two years. Moreover, according to railway department promotions, the technical difficulty of this section of the railway does not match the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail. So, how long does the EMU operation really need for a running-in period?
10. Why are there no seat belts on the EMU?
Some netizens questioned why EMUs do not come equipped with seat belts. Relevant experts stated that EMUs are massive in size, and even pulling the emergency brake lever would result in much slower deceleration compared to cars. Generally, sudden braking on EMUs does not significantly harm passengers inside, hence the lack of seat belts on EMUs.
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