High- speed railways' location near highway raises safety concerns in China

Shanghai, Aug 26(ANI): A high-speed railway under construction in China has raised fears that its location near a highway makes it dangerous.

The railway is just 5.8 meters away from the Hangzhou- Quzhou highway in Zhuji in Zhejiang province.

Zhejiang Provincial Development and Reform Commission had already initiated a probe into the project but is yet to release the results.

According to Chinese highway safety regulations, highways must be kept at least 30 meters away from other obstacles.

Chinese railway safety regulations stipulate that non-residential structures be kept at least 15 meters away from rails.

"A design like this that puts railway tracks so close to the highway is illegal," the China Daily quoted a Zhuji highway authority staff member, as saying.

He also said the highway authority had issued five requests asking for the work on the railway to be suspended.

But the project builder, the Shanghai-Kunming railway company in Zhejiang, a subsidiary of the China Railway 17 Bureau Group, ignored the requests.

According to the official website of the Shanghai Railway Bureau, the high-speed railway project is part of a route linking Hangzhou and Changsha is planned to be put into operation in 2013.

Project builder's spokesperson Yang Xueren said similar conflicts have arisen between railway and highway authorities throughout China. (ANI)