1981 Chengdu–Kunming rail crash

Crash

At 1:30 a.m., a mudslide (Flow velocity up to 13.2m/s, bulk weight up to 2.32t/m3, containing a large number of boulders, dozens with a diameter of over eight meters) occurred at the Liziyida gully, a tributary of the Dadu River, destroying the 17 m, 110 m Liziyida bridge. When the train was dispatched from Ganluo Station at 1:35 a.m., the local dispatcher sent the notice of departure but electricity suddenly cut out before the train fully left the station. The driver noticed this, but decided to continue as usual.

At 1:41 a.m., the number 442 passenger train consisting of two China Railway DF3 pulling 13 cars from Geliping to Chengdu was dispatched from the Niri station after passing Route 221 (another train operated on the opposite direction, from Chengdu to Jinjiang). A minute later, staffs of Niri station discovered that they had lost phone contact to the next station Wusi River station when reporting the departure of route 442.

At 1:45 a.m., the train entered the Nainaibao tunnel at a speed of 40 kph. After passing the tunnel curve, the driver Wang Mingru discovered that the building near the tunnel exit had collapsed and the light reflections from the rails were missing from the Liziyida bridge. He tried to make an emergency stop, but failed due to steep gradients of the rail before the bridge (at 14‰). As a result, the two diesel locomotives, baggage car No. 13, post office van No. 12, and passenger car No. 11 fell into the river. Passenger cars No. 10 and No. 9 crashed into the river bank. Passenger car No. 8 derailed in the tunnel and overturned outside of the tunnel exit.

Effects

Depending on the source, there were 240, 275 or 360 people killed, including four crew-members. The railway was blocked until a temporary bridge was completed on July 24. After the opening of the new Liziyida tunnel in May 1984 bypassing the gully, the temporary bridge was dismantled and the Nainaibao tunnel was abandoned. The bridge piers still stand today.

References

References

1. Distribution regularity of debris flow and its hazard in upper reaches of Yangtze River and other rivers of southwestern China, by Fangqiang Wei, Yuhong Jiang, Peng Cui and Mingtao Ding, published by Wuhan University Journal of Natural Sciences in 2007, Volume 12, Number 4, page 619–626
2. Sediment studies and management strategies in China by Zhao-Yin Wang and Bingnan Lin, published by International Journal of River Basin Management in March 2004, Volume 2, Issue 1, pages 39–50
3. "中国水利网站 ->专题关注 ->新闻专题 ->防洪重点薄弱环节建设 ->专家视点".
4. (July 9, 2013). "历史上的今天:成昆铁路发生列车坠桥事故".
5. (September 30, 2013). "一次未经报道的铁路事故".