The collision occurred on the Jiaoji Railway, which links the important cities of Qingdao and Jinan in Shandong province.

[1] The Jiaoji railway is a trunk line that is about a century old, built originally by Germans in the area during the late Qing dynasty.

It derailed at 04:38 China Standard Time (CST) on the inside (left) track around a bend due to excessive speed, at around 500 meters east of Wangcun Railway Station.

CPC General-secretary, President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao both released directives after the accident occurred, and sent Vice-Premier Zhang Dejiang to inspect rescue and investigation efforts.

[8] The Financial Times remarked that although the accident would be blamed on human error, it was likely that funding shortfalls played a role.

The executive vice-director of the Jinan Railway Bureau and six others were subject to criminal charges, and 31 other related personnel were accorded some sort of disciplinary action.