Chinese part derailed freight train in Kazakhstan

A freight train ran off the track near Astana, Tengrinews.kz reports citing the press-service of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy. The company’s press-service initially reported “11 loaded wagons of the freight train No.1626 ran off track at the 635th kilometer of Aktasty-Shokai block of Astana-Karaganda section of Karaganda division of railroad at 01:10 p.m. on December 12.” According to the press-service, the accident halted movement of all trains, including passenger ones, along the railway line in both ways. Two emergency trains and a special commission were resolving the situation at the accident site. “The wagons were loaded with metallurgical materials. Two emergency trains were sent to the site. They carried the required equipment: cranes ad bulldozers to take those wagons off the tracks. The top priority task was to resume the movement,” Director of Public Relations Department of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy Murat Buldekbayev said. The accident caused delays in movement of 7 passenger trains, Tengrinews.kz reports citing the operative service department of Passazhirskiye Perevozki. “The accident with 11 loaded wagons of the freight train happened at Aktasty-Shokai block and caused delays for 7 passenger trains. Train No.4 Astana-Almaty (Turan-Express), trains No.56 Kokshetau-Kyzylorda (Sunkar 1), Almaty-Kostanai (Passazhirskiye Perevozki), trains No.327 Karaganda-Kostanay (Passazhirskiye Perevozki), train No.305 Bishkek-Yekaterinburg (Kyrgyz Temir Zholu), train No.85 Saryagasg-Astana (Passazhirskiye Perevozki) and train No.6857 Astana-Karaganda,” the operative service department stated. Later Vice-President of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy Yermek Kizatov clarified that a low-quality Chinese-made part broke down and caused 13 cargo wagons to run off the tracks in Karaganda oblast. “The wagons ran off the tracks at 01:10 p.m. between Karaganda and Astana and caused the trains delays. The commission was formed and the reason was defined straight away. The accident was caused by a breakdown of one of the wagon’s solebar. This solebar is still in manufacturer’s warranty. We will be demanding that the manufacturer and the company that has been maintaining these wagons compensate all the damages. The wagons were made in Kazakhstan and owned by KazTemirTrans (an affiliated company of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy), while the part was supplied from China. The cargo train was transporting iron ore from Kostanay oblast to China,” Kizatov told the journalists. The accident also damaged 2 power transmission poles and the roadbed (150 meters of off direction and 400 meters of even direction). Both ways were damaged, according to Kazakhstan Temir Zholy. The restoration works were made more complicated by bad weather. Severe frost remain a problem in the region. Meanwhile, according to Kizatov, the railroad workers managed to cope without any extra support. “The movement of passenger trains was resumed at 07:15 a.m. today, on December 13. The total of 16 trains were delayed by the accident. The delays ranged from 1 hour to 17 hours and 45 minutes. We plan to resume operation of all trains on schedule by the end of tomorrow,” Vice-President said. According to Kizatov, all delayed passenger trains remained at stations. “They were mainly at the stations in Astana, Karaganda, Shokai, Aktasty. All passengers received the required aide. There have been no complains or claims from the passengers. The decision was made to pay a compensation to those involved in the incident in line with Kazakhstan legislation,” he stated. By Gulnara Zhandagulova and Aidana Ussupova