Railway station should provide air conditioning to passengers

THE TEMPERATURE has almost reached its summer peak, yet in the railway station at Changsha, capital of Central China's Hunan province, the air conditioners in the waiting hall are not in use and people have to pay if they want to enter a cooled room. Beijing News comments:

Weather data show that the outdoor temperature in Changsha was as high as 36 C over the past few days, almost intolerably hot. The waiting hall of the railway station is crowded and the temperatures inside are even higher than outside without the air conditioners on.

Railway stations in China run on public funds, or taxpayers' money, and they are supposed to serve the public. The station should therefore offer air-conditioning as a basic public service to passengers. The fact is they have installed air conditioners in the waiting rooms, but not switched them on, which is a failure of service.