Disgraced former railways minister Liu Zhijun is expected to stand trial soon for his role in last year's deadly high-speed train crash in Wenzhou, after state prosecutors handed the case to municipal authorities.
The website of the state-run Guangming Daily reported yesterday that the Supreme People's Procuratorate had formally transferred the case to prosecutors in Beijing, a procedural first step that paves the way for a trial in the capital.
At least 40 people died and nearly 200 were injured on July 23 of last year, when two high-speed trains collided on an elevated section of track in Zhejiang province. It was one of the worst accidents of its kind for decades in China and shook confidence in an ambitious transport project that had previously been seen as evidence of the mainland's economic rise.
A State Council investigation laid the bulk of the blame on Liu, even though he had been sacked for corruption five months before the crash. Liu was expelled from the Communist Party in May after its anti-graft watchdog concluded a 15-month probe into his corruption case.
Analysts said the train-wreck trial was likely to begin soon, as the central government appeared keen to wrap up the embarrassing case ahead of the once-a-decade leadership transition at the 18th National Party Congress later this year.
'Both the incumbent and incoming leadership must be eager to put the disaster behind them, as well as the corruption scandal involving ministerial-level officials, before the party congress,' said Professor Hu Xingdou , a Beijing-based political analyst.