On April 20th, in the early morning, a major accident was suspected to have occurred during the trial run of Line 10 of the Xi’an Metro. Local netizens released on-site photos showing severe damage to the front of the train and the carriages, with reports of casualties. However, local authorities quickly suppressed related information.
In the afternoon of April 20th, the topic “Accident during Xi’an Metro Trial Run, Suspected Casualties” trended on Baidu.
According to posts by several Xi’an netizens, a major accident occurred during the trial run of Line 10 of the Xi’an Metro in the early morning of the 20th.
Photos from the scene showed the front of a subway train severely damaged and deemed scrapped, with a section of the carriage crushed and deformed.
Some netizens disclosed that during the trial run of Line 10, there were issues with the “joint debugging and testing,” leading to a violent collision. Several netizens mentioned, “There are casualties in the accident,” “Internally, some information was seen, it can only be said to be quite serious, waiting for further updates,” “It crashed into a tunnel, the front of the train is completely damaged, and it was in unmanned driving mode.”
After public attention was drawn to the news, local authorities swiftly suppressed it, almost wiping out related photos and discussions on social media. Some netizens criticized, “With such a big incident, various local departments are concealing it, which is even more chilling than the incident itself. If it’s really being covered up, it will only make the people more terrified.”
Meanwhile, citing “anti-fraud” measures, the Xi’an police prevented local residents from spreading news of a major accident on the subway online. A Sichuan car blogger shared a so-called “anti-fraud” text message sent by the Xi’an municipal police, condemning the practice of “covering up incidents directly.”
On the morning of April 20th, a reporter from the “Xiaoxiang Morning News” called the Xi’an municipal government, Gaoling District government, and Gaoling District Emergency Management Bureau regarding the incident. All staff members stated that they had not received any reports related to the accident. Several calls were made to various departments of the Xi’an Municipal Transportation Bureau, Xi’an Rail Transit Group Public Hotline, and Operating Service Hotline, but no one answered.
Upon calling the Xi’an municipal government office for inquiries about the incident, a staff member said, “You dialed the wrong number.” Dialing 12345, the hotline responder mentioned that the incident occurred on the 19th, and details such as the location, specifics of the incident, casualties, etc., would need to await notification from the Xi’an Rail Transit Group.
Subsequently, when contacted the Xi’an Rail Transit Group, a staff member stated that the phone was responsible for handling “major incidents on the entire subway system.” When asked about whether there were casualties in this trial run accident, the staff member evasively responded, “Casualties are part of a major incident, but this duty phone is for addressing incidents happening on the subway today.”
Previously, local media introduced that the construction of Line 10 of the Xi’an Metro started in July 2020, with a planned route stretching 34.4 kilometers from Jinshang Village in Weiyang District to Zhaohui Square in Gaoling District. The completion of the entire line was scheduled for the end of 2024.
On March 18th, the Xi’an municipal government released an appendix titled “Implementation Plan for Opening and Operating Metro Lines,” which detailed the progress plan for Phase 1 of Line 10:
– In February, the underground section was ready for train debugging.
– In March, the comprehensive joint debugging was initiated.
– In April, the sound barriers were completed.
– In May, the Huanyuanzhong Road parking lot started train debugging.
– In June, the mainline signal system obtained safety certification for empty test runs.
– In July, empty test runs were conducted.
– In August, station interior decoration was basically completed.
– In September, initial operation conditions were met.