From Chinese Press

People first

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-25 07:53

There are 337 "Harmony" CRH trains in operation in China today, and their manufacturing technology has reached the world's advanced level. Now, China is developing the system dynamics of high-speed trains with an average speed of 400-500 km an hour, says an article on www.rednet.cn. Excerpts:

China has stepped into the era of high-speed trains. But many people still cannot afford to pay their high fares. The reasons for that vary.

First, because of the monopoly of China's railway companies, passengers don't have any choice. Second, the unfair income distribution hasn't raised common people's income in proportion to China's rapid economic development. Third, it is still open to discussion whether China should build high-speed railways when it is still in the period of social and economic transformation and is yet to resolve many social issues such as providing all its people with a good livelihood.

The high-speed trains have undoubtedly made travel much faster. It is estimated that by 2012, China's high-speed passenger and inter-city railway lines will be more than 13,000 km, the longest in the world. But we should pay greater attention to whether more people can afford to travel on high-speed trains and will the fast-paced travel improve their lives. The core value of a railway is not only evaluated by its transport capacity, cargo volume or how much it has reduced time for travel, but also by the extent to which common people can afford it. If the authorities care only about increasing trains' speeds instead of people's overall development, the high-speed trains will just be machines with no practical significance.

(China Daily 10/25/2010 page9)