The 54 bullet trains taken out of service following the deadly Wenzhou high-speed-rail crash in the summer are to resume operations on the Beijing-to-Shanghai line after receiving 'modifications', state media reported yesterday.
The trains, made by China CNR Corporation, were withdrawn in August, less than three weeks after the collision that claimed at least 40 lives.
'After a three-month process of modifications and repeated tests, previously reported problems with the CRH380BL trains have all been fixed,' Xinhua quoted an unidentified Ministry of Railways official as saying. 'Operations will gradually resume starting from Wednesday.'
The ministry official told the state news agency that six trains would initially be put back into service, while all 54 trains were expected to be back on the tracks by December 6, 'if everything goes well'.
The Beijing News reported that the first train would 'possibly' run between Beijing and Qingdao, Shandong province.
The CRH380BL model - one of China's newest and most advanced high-speed trains - was not involved in the Wenzhou crash, but technical faults were uncovered in a safety crackdown launched in the wake of the disaster. The timing of the sudden recall of such high-profile technology shook public confidence in the high-speed rail network's safety record, already jolted by the accident and a series of stoppages and major delays on the new Beijing-Shanghai route.
Media reports and experts earlier suggested that hairline cracks found in the axles of trains running on the line were linked to the recall.