"They had all the best equipment but did not maintain it well. The
failure of their facilities, along with inadequate operation, resulted
in the tragedy," Mr Wang Mengshu, deputy head of the investigative
panel told the newspaper, adding that the investigators "found no
design flaws in the signalling system after investigation and a
simulation of the accident."

On July 23, five days after the accident, the head of Shanghai Railway
Beureau Mr An Lusheng, announced that the accident had been caused by
signalling design flaws. An said that the signal protecting the first
train, which had come to a halt following a lightning strike, failed to
turn from green to red, allowing the following train to crash into the
rear of the stationary train.

On the same day, China's Premier Mr Wen Jiabao said: "I believe we should provide the public with a responsible explanation."

In September, the People's Daily quoted an unnamed member of the
investigating team as saying the accident was caused by human error and
faulty equipment. It was reported at this time that the signalling
system, which was still functioning four minutes before the crash,
encountered more than 100 lightning strikes in seven minutes.

The preliminary technical report was submitted to China's State Council
in September, but the State Administration of Work Safety said more
time would be needed to complete the investigation, the full details of
which have still not been made public.