The Rongjiawan train disaster occurred on April 29, 1997 in Rongjiawan, Hunan, China.
Accident On April 29, 1997, passenger train #818 was halted at track 4 of Rongjiawan Railway Station. The 818 was headed towards a station in Chaling County. The other train involved, another passenger train identified as #324, was on its way to Zhengzhou when it also arrived at Rongjiawan Station.
Number 324 entered the station approach tracks with a green signal, but was set to enter track 4. The engineer immediately activated the emergency brakes when they saw train #818 blocking the tracks ahead, but train #324 was too close to stop in the remaining space. Number 324 then rear-ended #818. Around 3,000 passengers were involved in the collision.
Response Following the accident, between 1,000 and 2,000 police and rescue officers arrived at the scene of the accident and began the process of rescuing survivors and extracting bodies.
Aftermath The death toll of the accident was listed as being at least 90. The cause of the accident was established as error on the behalf of the signalman.
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