(Yicai Global) Jan. 14 -- At least two  units of state-owned China Railway have found dangerous levels of  formaldehyde in the carriages of new Fuxing bullet trains that were not  put on route yet. The railway operator has recalled these vehicles. 

A Beijing subsidiary got a group of  Fuxing electric multiple unit trains with the safety concern and  reported the findings to the parent, financial media outlet China  Business Journal reported today, citing several insiders from the  Beijing-headquartered railway giant. The report did not disclose the number of the affected carriages.

The trains were destined to start  operations on Jan. 5 on the Beijing-Shanghai line, also known as Jinghu  railway. Rolling stock manufacturer CRRC's Dalian and Tangshan units  jointly produced these vehicles, among which the driver's cabin produced  by the CRRC's Dalian unit has not raised any formaldehyde alerts. 

China launched its first domestically  produced bullet train, Fuxing, on the Beijing-Shanghai route in June  2017. The vehicle lifted the maximum speed of trains to 400 kilometers  from 300 km per hour and cut the travel time to 4 hours and 24 minutes.

The CR has received a lot of complaints  about strange odors inside Fuxing cabins. "After getting off the train, I  had a sore throat and a cough, and I suspected at that time the amount  of formaldehyde exceeded the standard," one passenger told China  Business Journal last June. The strong-smelling gas can cause irritation  of the eyes, nose and throat. 

The  CR has carried out self-inspection and asked the CRRC to control  Fuxing's procurement and production processes, and yet complaints have  not stopped.

The National Railway Administration will  pay close attention to the mass production and operation of these  vehicles, guarantee their quality, and duly study and solve any issues,  the NRA said when issuing certificate and production license for these  types of vehicles last November.

The CR and CRRC led over 10 organizations  to form a research and development team to develop Fuxing trains, thus  owning the intellectual property rights, the NRA added.

Editor: Emmi Laine