Commission calls for mechanism to avoid rail accidents

The central government has urged disaster watchdogs to share data regularly with railway operators, after a mudslide caused a passenger train to derail in Central China last month, killing one and injuring more than 120 on board.

The Office of the State Council Committee on Production Safety said the railway department should create a regular communication system with departments including natural resources, water, meteorology and emergency response.

The order was made public on Sunday in an accident report that the office has issued recently on the accident.

According to the report, the accident occurred near Chenzhou, Hunan province, at around 11:40 am March 30. Carrying more than 800 passengers, the train was travelling from Jinan, East China's Shandong province, to Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong province.

After the derailment, nine carriages rolled over and a fire broke out in the forepart of the train, the report said.

One person died, four were critically injured and more than 120 had various degrees of injures, it said, adding the initial analyses showed that a landslide was responsible for the accident.

The report has urged local authorities to step up patrols along the path of the country's sprawling railway network in an effort to rule out lurking geologic hazards including flashfloods, landslides and rock falls.

Roads, bridges railways susceptible to geologic disasters shall be monitored by designated personnel all day long to avoid similar accidents, it said.