A man accused of sabotaging the Beijing-Kowloon railway went on trial in an intermediate court in east China's Jiangxi Province on Friday.

Wu Guochang, from neighboring Zhejiang Province, was accused of damaging a means of transport and arson, in charges read at the Intermediate People's Court for Railway Transportation in Nanchang, the provincial capital.

The court made no rulings in the case on Friday.

Wu was alleged to have severed a 142-cm piece of rail in a Jiangxi section of the railway on March 24, in an attempt to derail a passenger train. The railway line is a key passenger and cargo rail trunk in China.

The action almost led to the derailment of a passenger train, which had to apply its emergency brakes, the court heard.

The damage delayed eight passenger trains and 10 cargo trains, causing a loss of 70,924 yuan (US$8,865) for the railway, the court said.

Wu was also charged with five counts of arson in his hometown of Jiande City, in Zhejiang Province, on October 6, 2003. A clerk ata credit cooperative branch was injured in one fire and property was damaged.

Wu was seeking revenge against relatives involved in a family feud, according to prosecutors.

The Public Security Ministry on April 30 issued a class A arrest warrant with a reward of 300,000 yuan (US$37,500).

Wu was arrested on May 1 in Jianyang city, Fujian Province, after railway police received a tip off.

The court gave no date for the resumption of the case.

(Xinhua News Agency September 23, 2006)