Learning our lessons

Safety worries have replaced concerns about the affordability of the nation's high-speed railways since the fatal collision on the Ningbo-Wenzhou line on July 23.

The outcome of the Ministry of Railways' initial botched response to the tragedy is that people now have doubts about traveling on the once enthusiastically anticipated high-speed trains.

The lack of transparency in the days after the tragedy brewed suspicions not only about the possibility of a cover-up by the ministry, but also about the desirability of the "great leap forward" the nation's high-speed trains were supposed to be.