"90% of Hong Kongers take public transport. According to the Guangdong Daily, over 12 million bus trips are taken in Hong Kong every day. Most car owners and even rich people take buses. However, many mainland car owners can't imagine losing their faces and want everyone to know that they have cars. They even drive just to cover a few steps, and don't take the subway even if there's a station right outside their door. Does one really need a damn car to prove one's wealth? I think, we should learn more from Hong Kongers when it comes to civic consciousness!"
Director Song Zude on the civic consciousness of Hong Kongers
High-speed railway track in Hubei collapses before going into operation
China's rail network has suffered a blow as a section of high-speed track - due to go into full operation in May in central Hubei province - collapsed following heavy rain. It had already undergone test runs. [Australia Network News]
After recent school bus tragedy, China donates school buses to Macedonia
China has donated school buses to Macedonia, and these buses were handed over to the south-eastern European country yesterday.
Jetstar launches Beijing-Singapore-Melbourne flight ahead of Scoot's takeoff
Even as China continues to keep the lid on low-cost carriers, foreign budget airlines are prying the door open slowly but surely. Here's some good news for readers living up north in the capital: Beijing has become Qantas offshoot Jetstar's tenth destination in China with the launch of the budget airline's Beijing-Singapore-Melbourne flight, and the carrier plans to add two more Chinese cities this year to reach a total of 12.
Shanghai gets its own school bus accident
Koinkidink, much? Fortunately, it's not as serious as the one that just happened in Gansu, and nobody died. Shanghai Daily with the details:
Commuter upgrade: Shanghai bus stops to begin predicting bus arrival times
According to Oriental Morning Post, select bus routes in Shanghai have already initiated pilot programs for a bus timing system similar to that of our metro system. Lines 925B and 146 have both begun forecasting bus arrival times by tracking progress along their stops, flashing updates on LCD tickers when the bus is two stops away, one stop away, and about to arrive.
Photos: Trucks carrying 70 tons of explosives ignite, obliterate vehicle station
Two trucks transporting 70 tons of explosives in Guizhou province exploded next to a motor vehicle testing station on Tuesday morning, killing 8 people and injuring 218 others. The explosion was so enormous that six local schools canceled classes because of damage to their buildings.
Cab-riding Shanghai residents, beware this transportation card scam!
Shanghai taxi drivers are now increasingly pulling some magician stunts by swapping out your fully charged jiaotong ka (public transportation card) with an empty one using sleight-of-hand.
Shanghai Metro: Power failure, not signals error, caused collision
Shanghai Metro's latest statement released on its website yesterday has contradicted earlier assertions by company chairman Yu Guangyao that faulty signals equipment supplied by Shanghai Casco Signals Corp, a joint venture of France-based Alstom SA, caused Tuesday's subway collision.
All you need to know about yesterday's Shanghai Metro crash
Here's a quick round-up of all you need to know about yesterday's Shanghai Metro rear-end collision:
Watch: Scene outside Yuyuan Garden metro station after yesterday's train crash
Also watch a report by Channel News Asia after the jump...
Shanghai Metro signal maker CASCO's alleged project list
In the aftermath of the Line 10 subway car collision that occurred due to faulty train signals, information is coming to light regarding the provider of Shanghai Metro's signaling technology.
2 dead, 29 injured in bus crash near Shanghai
This morning around 6am a Shanghai long-distance bus bound for Anhui struck a gravel truck on Haiwan Rd in Fengxian district. The bus then careened into a tricycle, overturning and killing two people. 29 people were injured (including the truck driver), two seriously. The bus was not a tour bus, as Shanghai Daily reports, but rather a long-distance passenger bus, according to Xinmin. As if we needed any more reminders that the easiest way to die in China is on the road. Be careful out there, Shanghai!
Evil Shanghai metro escalator "giggles" before malfunctioning
The machines truly are out to get us. Another Otis metro escalator malfunctioned yesterday evening around 6:30pm at Yangshupu Station on Line 4. Witnesses reported on Weibo that while riding the up escalator, the machine suddenly emitted a "giggle" sound near the bottom and then slowly reversed direction! Terrified passengers started scrambling up the stairs as metro employees immediately shut it down to avoid an accident.
CRH sends 21 trains to replace those recalled on Shanghai-Beijing line
Last week, train producer CNR announced a recall of 54 of the trains on the Shanghai-Beijing high-speed rail line. Shanghai also announced that all high-speed traffic (G and D trains) would be frozen after August 15 in order to revamp time tables. It seems, however, that train service remains unfrozen, and they have simply replaced the recalled trains. From Xinhua: "China has moved 21 high-speed CRH 380A (L) trains from other railway lines to ensure the operation of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway after 54 trains used on the route were recalled over safety concerns, a train manufacturer said Sunday." At this point, it seems just about everybody involved is scrambling to ensure the trains are running, and that they are running safely. New safety checkpoints have also been installed along the Shanghai-Beijing line.
China slows down most bullet trains, Beijing-Shanghai line spared
Well, it was bound to happen - something needed to be done while the government figures out the aftermath of the Wenzhou crash, and firing officials, stopping production and suspending approval of future rail lines probably wouldn't be enough. Now there's been a speed decrease says China Daily: "According to the Ministry of Railways, during the initial stages, trains with a top design speed of 350 kilometers per hour will be lowered to 300 km/h, and the trains designed to run up to 250 km/h will operate at 200 km/h. The rails whose speed was previously raised to 200 km/h will be scaled down to 160 km/h. Ticket prices will also be reduced." Is the daredevil in you sad that you won't get to take that five-hour trip to Beijing? Don't be - Shanghai's keeping its speediness: The Beijing-Shanghai line and the Shanghai-Hangzhou line (as well as Beijing-Tianjing) won't be affected.
Watch: Passengers get punchy on Beijing Metro Line 1
At 10:30pm on the evening of July 31st, passengers on a Beijing Metro Line 1 subway train reverted to all-out fisticuffs, as opposed to the finger-pointing and shouting that usually occurs during public arguments in China. The incident occurred when the train was stopped at Line 1's Sihui Station (四惠站), and apparently began as a result of passengers fighting for seats. Perhaps a move to post 'Enter at your own risk' signs at subway entrances in catfight-happy cities like Beijing and Shanghai wouldn't be such a bad idea.
Shanghai's least popular taxi drivers strike for pensions
All of the striking drivers work for the Shanghai Fuxin Taxi Company, which owns 70 taxis in the city. Drivers said that the company did not pay their share of the worker's pensions, amounting to about 1,100 yuan ($171) per month, for up to four and a half years.more ›
Subway supermarket shopping comes to Shanghai
A new mobile shopping experience is coming to major cities around China with a subway network, and is currently being tested in Shanghai and Beijing.
Subway train on Line 10 takes wrong track after line split, then runs backwards!
Passengers travelling on Line 10 of the Shanghai Metro were spared a heart attack on Thursday evening when they got off the train in one piece after it went on the wrong track at the Longxi Road station line split.
Railway signals company shows you how NOT to run a press conference
As the grand game of push-the-blame taichi continues, the ball has now fallen in the court of the Beijing National Railway Research & Design Institute of Signal & Communication Co Ltd, whose railway signals equipment is now being blamed for the Wenzhou train collision.
Man who lost 5 family members lambasts Ministry of Railways, then makes an about face
Shaoxing native Yang Feng (杨峰), who lost five members of his family in the Wenzhou high-speed rail crash, has won much sympathy and support for boldly railing against the Ministry of Railways in front of television cameras.
Photos: Train carriages moved hastily away from crash site
In a move approved by a committee set up by the State Council to investigate the Wenzhou high-speed rail crash, train compartments have been hastily transported away from the crash site to the Wenzhou West train station "for further research".
Shinkansen expert Satoru Sone: Unbelievable China is disassembling and burying train carriages
Many of the journalists working on the Wenzhou train crash story are finding it hard to believe the railway ministry's denials that it's burying train bodies and parts to hide the truth.
Where on earth is the driver of the D3115 train?
Two trains were involved in Saturday's high-speed train crash in Wenzhou. We all now know what happened to Pan Yiheng (潘一恒), the driver of the D301 train which rear-ended the D3115 in front. He was stabbed to death in his chest by a brake handle as he activated the emergency brakes in the final moments of his life.
Watch: First eye-witness video of Wenzhou train collision?
This purported video of the Wenzhou train collision has been burning up the internets since it was first uploaded onto the video-sharing site, Youku. A large part of the video shows us what weather conditions were like that day -- it was raining heavily and cars were travelling slowly on the flooded streets. In the last few seconds, we see a train moving (presumably the D301 that rear-ended the D3115), a few bright sparks, and then shouts of disbelief. No lightning was visible in the video, so If this video is indeed what it claims to be, then it is clear proof that the Ministry of Railways was lying about the collision having been caused by a lightning. We'll be waiting to hear from the video forensic experts on this one.
Airline shares up from Wenzhou rail crash
Not unexpected: "China Eastern Airlines led share rallies of China's three air giants in the Hong Kong market by gaining 4.76 percent to close at HK$3.96 (51 US cents) yesterday. Air China rose 3.59 percent to HK$8.08 and China Southern Airlines rose 3.4 percent to HK$5.17. The increase bucked the downward trend of the Hang Seng Index, which closed down 0.7 percent at 22,293.3 points." [Shanghai Daily]

