China high-speed rail track collapses China's railways ministry has been plagued by scandals and missteps. July's high-speed crash raised concerns about the safety of the fast-growing network and threatened plans to export high-speed technology. Heavy rain last Friday collapsed a section of a 180 mile high-speed rail link in central China, set to open in May, state news agency Xinhua said on Monday, citing local authorities. There were no reports of any injuries from the collapsed track, said Xinhua. The railway in Hubei province will eventually link the provincial capital Wuhan and Yichang city. Time-Weekly, a semi-official newspaper, in early March cited a whistle-blower, Ni Hongjun, saying that he had tried to warn the railways ministry in 2010 that the Wuhan-Yichang rail link was at risk from heavy rain. He said the construction company building the high-speed railway was using earth instead of gravel and that earth can be softened when heavy rains occur, leaving the railway "facing a major security risk." China's cabinet criticised the railways ministry last December for lax safety standards and poor handling of the July 2010 crash, but said it remained committed to high-speed rail.