(Yicai Global) April 15 -- A runaway freight train came off the tracks at 1 p.m. China time yesterday but did not cause any casualties, the operator of the Daqin railway line, a major coal transportation artery, said today.

The cargo train derailed at Cuiping Shan station, near the northern city of Tianjin, with 17 carriages careering off the tracks, 11 of which fell under the railway bridge, Daqin Railway said.

The accident interrupted traffic along the railway line, which runs 3,149 kilometers from Datong in northern Shanxi province, through the major cities of Beijing and Tianjin, to the port city of Qinhuangdao in northern Hebei province. It is an important route for the transportation of coal across the country.

Railway authorities immediately sent six trains and over 1,000 personnel to the site of the accident. Rescue work is underway and the company is making every effort to reopen the line as soon as possible.

Daqin Railway [SHA:601006] was trading down 0.73 percent at CNY6.77 (USD1) as of 11: 30 a.m. China time today.

Editor: Kim Taylor