A train employee walks past a CRH (China Railway High-speed) Harmony 380BL bullet train (bottom) at Beijing South Railway Station July 25, 2011. China CNR Corp Ltd, the nation's No.2 train maker, will recall 54 bullet trains used on the new Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail line for safety reasons, the firm said August 12, 2011.[Photo/Agencies]

BEIJING-- China CNR Corp Ltd will recall 54 high-speed trains used on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail line over safety concerns, the company said in a statement Friday.

The Shanghai-listed train maker said in a statement at the website of Shanghai Stock Exchange that it had asked the Ministry of Railways for approval of recalling its 54 high-speed CRH380BL trains.

Previously, the Beijing-based company has decided to suspend delivery of CRH380BL trains which the company said have defects in the automatic protection system.

The trains were assembled in the company's subsidiary, Changchun Railway Vehicles Co Ltd, in northeast China's Jilin Province.

Friday's recall of high-speed trains came shortly after the country's railway ministry announced a slowdown of train speeds amid widespread concerns over the railway safety aroused by the July 23 train crash in east China