At least two are dead after an accident at a subway construction site in Xi’an, Shaanxi province this morning. At around 2:40 am, a tunnel caved in as nine workers were in the midst of building Line 3. Four have been rescued, but of the five that were buried, two have been found dead while the other three are still missing. (Note: the title of the above video claims three died on the scene.)
Xi’an has had a remarkably bad track record for subway construction. In August 2009, two people died in a similar cave-in while working on the Sajinqiao section of Line 1. Media reported that that was the city’s fourth accident during subway construction in seven months.
Meanwhile, China keeps on expanding its underground network. One urban planning specialist recently called subway operation a “bottomless pit, i.e. not revenue-generating. That — it is apparent — should be the lesser of authorities’ concerns.
“urban planning specialist” with a very narrow understanding of the point of infrastructure.
Cheap transportation means more freedom of movement which in turn makes for greatly increased trade and commercial activity. When it’s cheap to get anywhere in the city, everyone benefits on every single level. China is rather unique in having actual population density that makes these investments meaningful. Like virtually all infrastructure projects in China. They are derided for being underused, and then a few months later they are at capacity and become critical components of life for millions. Of course, that part of the story, the one where idiots admit they were completely wrong, never makes it into the news. Hack “economists” have to keep pretending they know what the hell they are talking about I guess.