The Ministry of Railways has launched a 10-day nationwide safety check following its decision last week to lower the operating speed of high-speed railways for safety reasons.

A police officer for the Tongren Railway Station, Guizhou province, checks safety along the line as a passenger train passes in February. [Photo/China Daily]

According to a statement on the ministry's website published on Saturday, the check focuses on safety measures along the tracks, including both high-speed and slower railways.

Local railway bureaus are urged to patrol lines and check whether all required protective measures are in place, especially at spots where railways cross roads and bridges, and in sections where roads and railways lie side by side, the statement said.

All venues that produce or sell dangerous goods but lie too close to rail tracks will also be cleared out, it said.

According to China's regulations, areas from 8 to 15 meters on each side of the tracks are special zones where construction and excavation are forbidden.

The regulations also ban any production, storage and sale of flammable, explosive and radioactive articles 200 meters from the tracks.

Explaining the ongoing safety campaign, the ministry said that the current safety situation along the lines is "severe", but did not elaborate.

However, Zhang Junbang, head of the Zhengzhou railways bureau and a deputy to the National People's Congress, said in March that after some new high-speed railways were built, railway workers on regular patrols found that villagers had built pigpens under bridges where tracks run.

The illegal construction poses a safety hazard for fast trains, he said.

The safety check was kicked off on Friday, the same day President Hu Jintao inspected the high-speed railway in Hainan province in South China.