Abstract: China has achieved unprecedented progress in the construction of urban rail transit over the past ten years, the driving speed and the number of rail lines are in the leading position in the world. However, various engineering accidents happened occasionally, and resulted in the property and human life loss. This paper statistically analyzes the operation accidents and several typical engineering accidents of Shanghai rail transit such as shield excavation accidents, deep excavation accidents, mine tunnel accident and the temporary supporting structural failures. The accident prevention measures for the construction safety are recommended for the rail transit projects. The research results show that there are many accidents and failure in Shanghai metro projects. The deep excavation supporting structure failures by seepage and slide inside the excavated areas. The construction technique also contributes to a large portion of accidents.

Key words: Shanghai Rail Transit, Transportation Safety, Engineering Accident, Statistical Analysis