In late November last year, a detection train of China Railway Kunming Group Co., Ltd. (referred to as “CR Kunming Group”) collided with construction workers, resulting in 11 deaths and 2 injuries. Recently, Chinese media revealed that the CR Kunming Group was only fined 3 million yuan (RMB) for the incident, with 34 individuals facing disciplinary actions within the party.
According to a report by The Paper on July 29th, it was learned from relevant sources that the CR Kunming Group was held fully responsible for the major railway traffic accident that resulted in 11 deaths and 2 injuries due to the detection train collision with construction workers, and was fined 3 million yuan by the Chengdu Railway Supervision and Administration Bureau.
On November 27, 2025, the CR Kunming Group’s detection train No. 55537 collided with construction workers from the Kunming South Engineering Section at Luoyang Town Station in Chenggong District, Kunming City, resulting in 11 deaths and 2 injuries with a direct economic loss of 14.52 million yuan.
As reported previously by The Paper, on July 3 of this year, the National Railway Administration announced the investigation results of the “11.27” major railway traffic accident at Luoyang Town Station, attributing it to violations and risky operations during construction, the lack of effective safety protection systems on-site, insufficient daily safety management by the company, and inadequate industry supervision responsibilities. It recommended that the Chengdu Railway Supervision and Administration Bureau impose administrative penalties on the units involved in the illegal acts.
The investigation team transferred the Station Liaison Officer suspected of serious responsibility for the accident to the judicial authorities for handling. Issues regarding the performance of public officials in the departments and units discovered during the accident investigation were reported to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China and the National Supervisory Commission stationed at the Ministry of Transport, as well as the CR Group Disciplinary and Supervisory Team. 34 relevant personnel from the responsible units, including the Kunming Group Company and Chengdu Railway Supervision and Administration Bureau, were subjected to party disciplinary actions.
On July 6, the Chengdu Railway Supervision and Administration Bureau imposed a 300,000 yuan administrative fine on the CR Kunming Group under the relevant provisions of the Safety Production Law.
On July 30, the incident sparked discussion with tags like “Detection train collision with 11 fatalities fined 3 million yuan” and “Can a 3 million fine console 11 lives” trending on Weibo.
Netizens expressed concerns about the situation, questioning the adequacy of the penalties and whether those responsible were held accountable. They raised doubts about the transparency of the handling results and the lack of criminal responsibility for key safety personnel. There were also calls for more substantial compensations for the victims and their families, emphasizing that human lives are priceless and deserve proper justice and compensation.