More strain for bullet train travelers
By Ni Yinbin |
July 14, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Two weeks after its grand opening, the flagship high-speed rail line between Shanghai and Beijing has been shut down by power failures three times, leaving passengers stranded for hours, many of them in hot and stuffy carriages.
Yesterday, passengers on a train from Shanghai to Beijing had to transfer to another one after a breakdown, adding two and a half hours to their travel time.
The Ministry of Railways again apologized, and gave each passenger on the G114 train a box of cookies and a bottle of water as compensation.
The breakdown of the G114 did not affect other trains on the line, the ministry said.
It said a problem, which it did not specify, was detected on the G114 as it arrived at Changzhou in Jiangsu Province and they dispatched a spare train to carry the passengers on to Beijing.
It arrived in the capital at 5pm, two and a half hours behind schedule.
In contrast to previous breakdowns, however, the train's air conditioning continued to work.
Passenger Anna Zhang said there seemed to be a problem with the train even as it left Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station at 9:35am. It was traveling slowly and never got above 130 kilometers per hour, nearly half its 350kph top speed.
The train made an unscheduled stop at Changzhou at about 10:25am for a "signal problem," Zhang said.
Nearly 30 minutes later, the train was on the move but around 10 minutes later stopped again at Zhenjiang Station S.
"We were told to change to another train ... real tragedy," Zhang said on her microblog.
The passengers were finally on their way to Beijing after the spare train set off at 12:30pm.
On Sunday, 12 trains were delayed after a G151 train broke down in Shandong Province at around 6:10pm.
On Tuesday, a D182 train from Shanghai to Zhengzhou in Henan Province broke down due to a power failure, delaying 30 trains on the line.
The railway's power was cut off at about 11am in Anhui Province and resumed two hours later after repairs. Passengers were without air conditioning throughout the wait.
The People's Daily, the Party's newspaper, said yesterday that the Shanghai-Beijing line would have to up its game.
"Just relying on high speed is not enough. We must ask: has there been enough preparation for inclement weather?" it said. "In the event of power cuts and delays, how do you take care of passengers and bear the losses?"
Yesterday, passengers on a train from Shanghai to Beijing had to transfer to another one after a breakdown, adding two and a half hours to their travel time.
The Ministry of Railways again apologized, and gave each passenger on the G114 train a box of cookies and a bottle of water as compensation.
The breakdown of the G114 did not affect other trains on the line, the ministry said.
It said a problem, which it did not specify, was detected on the G114 as it arrived at Changzhou in Jiangsu Province and they dispatched a spare train to carry the passengers on to Beijing.
It arrived in the capital at 5pm, two and a half hours behind schedule.
In contrast to previous breakdowns, however, the train's air conditioning continued to work.
Passenger Anna Zhang said there seemed to be a problem with the train even as it left Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station at 9:35am. It was traveling slowly and never got above 130 kilometers per hour, nearly half its 350kph top speed.
The train made an unscheduled stop at Changzhou at about 10:25am for a "signal problem," Zhang said.
Nearly 30 minutes later, the train was on the move but around 10 minutes later stopped again at Zhenjiang Station S.
"We were told to change to another train ... real tragedy," Zhang said on her microblog.
The passengers were finally on their way to Beijing after the spare train set off at 12:30pm.
On Sunday, 12 trains were delayed after a G151 train broke down in Shandong Province at around 6:10pm.
On Tuesday, a D182 train from Shanghai to Zhengzhou in Henan Province broke down due to a power failure, delaying 30 trains on the line.
The railway's power was cut off at about 11am in Anhui Province and resumed two hours later after repairs. Passengers were without air conditioning throughout the wait.
The People's Daily, the Party's newspaper, said yesterday that the Shanghai-Beijing line would have to up its game.
"Just relying on high speed is not enough. We must ask: has there been enough preparation for inclement weather?" it said. "In the event of power cuts and delays, how do you take care of passengers and bear the losses?"
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
