China's railways ministry has acknowledged flaws in the construction of its high-speed rail links, state media reported Tuesday, in another blow to its credibility after a deadly train crash.

The July 23 collision of two high-speed trains in eastern China, which killed at least 40 people and left nearly 200 injured, sparked public fury amid allegations authorities had prioritised development over safety.

According to the state-run People's Railway Daily newspaper, the ministry acknowledged earlier this week that "flaws exist in the management of construction of high-speed railways".

"Some units have not paid enough attention to key operations involving the safety of high-speed rail links," said the report, which was posted on the ministry's website.

The comments come at a time of crisis for China's high-speed rail network, which had been a major source of political pride for the government until the accident happened near the city of Wenzhou.

Last week, state media said investigations into the crash had determined it was "completely avoidable", adding that design defects had likely caused equipment failures and emergency plans were also deficient.

On Friday, a state-owned manufacturing company announced it was recalling 54 bullet trains on the newly opened high-speed link between Beijing and Shanghai for safety checks.

Also last week, the government said it was suspending approval of all new railway construction projects and ordered the maximum speed of trains on the newly-built lines to be lowered by as much as 20 percent.

China's government has said it will reduce its train fares by five percent, in a move believed to be aimed at attracting commuters back to the country's beleaguered rail system.

earlier related report
China sends experts to treat train crash orphan
Beijing (AFP) Aug 16, 2011 - China has said it will sent four top medical experts to try to save the legs of a two-year-old girl orphaned and seriously wounded in a deadly train crash that sparked widespread public outrage.

The girl, nicknamed Yiyi, was found alive in the wreckage 21 hours after last month's high-speed rail collision -- well after rescue operations had ended -- prompting accusations the search for survivors was halted too early.

Both the girl's parents were killed in the accident and her uncle, Xiang Yuyu, wrote an open letter to the Ministry of Railways on his blog urging the government to send experienced doctors to save her legs.

"Little Yiyi lost her parents in this disaster... and has suffered enormous pains from multiple operations," he wrote in his Sina blog.

"We plead to you to save the flying wings of Yiyi, please!"

The government, which has came under unusually harsh criticism from the media and Internet users in the wake of the accident, said in a statement late Monday it would send four medical experts to the hospital where Yiyi was being treated.

The decision was aimed at "ensuring the best treatment" for patients at the hospital, it said.

At least 40 people were killed and nearly 200 more wounded when two high-speed trains collided near the eastern city of Wenzhou on July 23.

Yiyi has had five operations on her left leg, which doctors had feared they might have to amputate, the official Xinhua news agency said.

It is unlikely medical staff will be able to restore the full function of the leg because some of the muscles have atrophied, the agency quoted her doctor as saying.

The disaster was a major embarrassment to the Chinese government, which had made the construction of the world's biggest high-speed rail network a key political goal.

Last week authorities said they were suspending approval of new railway construction projects and ordered the maximum speed of trains on the newly-built lines lowered by as much as 20 percent amid safety fears.

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