Shanghai Subway Crash: 270 Injured in Latest National Disaster

In Shanghai, China, a subway train crash on Tuesday injured around 270 commuters.

A signal failure on a track in central Shanghai caused two trains to collide. All of the injured passengers have been taken to the hospital and local authorities insist that most of the injuries were minor. About 180 people have already been discharged, Xu Jianguang, director of Shanghai's health bureau, said at a press conference.

There were a total of 500 people on the two trains.

Police... have been dispatched to the scene to help with the evacuation, the Shanghai Metro Company said in a statement.

The crash occurred near Old West Gate station, and nine subway lines have suspended service. There are eleven lines total in Shanghai, and the one on which the collision occurred was opened just last year, according to Reuters.

No matter the ultimate cause and responsibility, [we feel] particularly guilty about the harm and losses borne by the public, Shanghai Metro said in a statement on its blog. We will put in our utmost ability to rescue the wounded, resume operations as soon as possible ... and cooperate with the relevant departments in the investigation.

Even if our apologies pale in comparison to the actual injuries, we are deeply sorry.

China has recently begun a massive modernization of its national railway system, but a number of accidents and blemishes have angered citizens and tarnished the country's reputation.

In July, a high speed rail crash in Wenzhou left 39 people dead. The two-train head-on accident was also blamed on a signal failure, when a light signalling the trains to stop never illuminated. Before the subway disaster on Tuesday, the crash was China's worst train accident since 2008.

Without safety, high-speed trains will lose their credibility, Premier Wen Jiabao stated in July. This deadly accident has reminded us to attach more importance to the safety of our high-speed railways.

In both the crash Tuesday and the one in July, the signals were manufactured by the China Railway Sign and Communication Corp., according to Caixin magazine.

The railway company said in July that it will face up to shouldering responsibility, and accept any punishment that is due, and will strictly undertake pursuing culpability of those responsible, and that safety overrides all else, and high-speed rail safety is of even more overriding importance.

In the past, state employees have also been caught accepting bribes from contractors, which is a serious violation and also puts safety checks into question. In February, Liu Zhijun, who was the railways minister at the time, was fired for accepting 800 million yuan ($125 million) in kickbacks from contractors.

In an unrelated story, a train passenger in Jiangxi province was beaten to death by three crew members on Monday after he intervened in an argument, according to Jiangxi Television. Twenty passengers said they witnessed the event, in which the train staff strangled and pummeled to the middle-aged commuter.