2 Train Accidents Kill 13 in China, Deadliest in 14 Years

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Nov 28, 2025 - 10:59 Updated: Nov 28, 2025 - 10:49
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2 Train Accidents Kill 13 in China, Deadliest in 14 Years

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Two separate train accidents in China killed 13 railway workers in the early hours on Nov. 27, state media outlets said.

A train hit a group of railway maintenance workers while passing through a curve at a station in Luoyang, a town in China’s southwestern city of Kunming, killing 11 and injuring two, according to state-owned Xinhua news agency. The train was testing earthquake detection equipment, and was proceeding normally when the accident occurred, the report said.

It’s the deadliest Chinese rail accident in 14 years.

The two injured men were taken to a nearby hospital, local state media outlet Chuncheng Evening News reported. According to the report, one man in his 30s, identified by his surname Li, remained conscious and was able to move his hands. Doctors declined to comment on his condition.

Another man, Wang, 25, sustained more serious injuries. He received emergency operation and remained in the Intensive Care Unit, the report said.

Also on Nov. 27, two railway workers were killed in Sichuan by a cargo train between Huangxu and Deyang. The victims were working on adjacent tracks and had stepped into the route of the cargo train, state media CCTV reported.

Both railways have resumed normal services. Railway officials extended condolences to the victims’ families, and investigations into the causes of the incidents are ongoing, the reports said.

China has the world’s second-largest railroad network after the United States, with tracks spanning almost 100,000 miles.

Since 2020, there have been more than 20 fatal incidents involving China’s railroads, including a high-profile incident in 2011 that killed 40 and injured 172.

Among the worst of these, a high-speed train, which had insufficient time to stop after learning there was another slow-moving train ahead, rear-ended the front train on a bridge in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province.

Seven cars were derailed, and three fell from the bridge. The two trains were carrying a total of 1,630 passengers when the incident occurred.

The collision occurred after a thunderstorm caused a communication failure. An official investigation found “serious design flaws and major safety hazards” in control center equipment.

At least seven railway incidents in the past 25 years have resulted in the deaths of maintenance workers; most of these involved crews’ irregular entry onto train tracks in operation.

According to officials, a 2008 incident that killed 18 maintenance workers and injured nine in Weifang, Shandong Province, occurred after an unqualified crew forced entry into the site 20 minutes earlier then they were supposed to.

In 2021, a train killed nine railway workers in Gansu. A maintenance crew entered the track after failing to spot the incoming train, an official investigation found.

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