High Speed Rail crash in China

[malaise]

Lightning struck the train????
May these folks RIP.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14262276
<snip>
At least 32 people have died and more than 100 are hurt after two high-speed trains crashed into each other in eastern China, state media reports.

Two train coaches fell off a bridge after derailing close to Wenzhou in Zhejiang province.

Chinese media report that one of the trains came to a halt after being struck by lightning and was then hit by the second train.

Rescue workers are at the scene, near Shuangyu town in Wenzhou.

It is not known how many people were on the trains at the time, but Xinhua news agency says each carriage can carry 100 people.

[Ghost Dog]

1. This would be a software design or implementation error, then.

The accident occurred on a bridge near the city of Wenzhou after the first train lost power due to a lightning strike and a bullet train following behind crashed into it, state television said.

The total power failure rendered useless an electronic safety system designed to warn following trains of stalled trains on the tracks up ahead, and automatically halt them before a collision can occur, the report added.

/... http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/07/23/uk-china-train-idUKTRE76M27320110723

The safety system should have been able to identify and respond to the total power failure situation. It should have failed safely.

The Reuters article adds, amongst other points:

The flagship Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail line has been plagued by power outages, leaving passengers stranded on stuffy trains for hours at least three times since opening a month ago.

"China's high-speed trains are rubbish! They have frequent accidents and they've only been in service a few years," wrote "I believe in snow."

"We should learn from Japan. They've been running them for years with no problems."