Home » Opinion » Chinese Views
More time to clear up train wreck
By John Gong |
July 28, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
BITS and pieces of information about the July 23 high-speed railway accident in Wenzhou are starting to leak out on the Internet.
As expected, initial evidence seems to point to human errors as the main cause, as in most rail and aviation accidents. No doubt the Ministry of Railways is facing a crisis of public trust.
The debut of the Beijing-Shanghai high speed railway is mired in delay after delay. Three days after I said in a previous article in this newspaper ("All hail fast and fancy railyway but is it safe to ride?") that at least the MOR's safety record is decent, setting side those weather-related glitches, this tragic accident comes as a slap in the face.
Let's first not deny this fact. Until the former railways boss Liu Zhijun was sacked by the central government, the MOR was indeed riddled with corruption. These charges inevitably lead to quality, safety and reliability questions about its high-speed railway program.
Any extra penny that landed in Liu's stinky pocket is one penny less of quality, safety and reliability for the riding public. The development of the critical train-control system, which was one of the major components that failed in the July 23 accident, was led by Liu's right-hand man, Mr Zhang Shuguang who is also in jail right now on corruption charges.
There is no doubt that the MOR is a huge mess right now. Yet I still want to be the MOR's apologist - unpaid apologist. And let me lay out the reasons why the MOR is still worth our votes.
First, for those of us frequently commuting between Beijing and Shanghai and who are tired of flight delays and fares that fly higher than their planes, the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway is still a pretty good bargain.
Second, the public needs to manage its expectations of the high-speed railway. On this issue, the MOR probably has itself to blame by overselling the concept.
High-speed rail is a new technology in China after all, and the MOR is introducing this technology amid the greatest railway expansion in history. As we lament the loss of lives in the recent accident and pray for those who are still in hospital, let's also give the MOR some time to straighten out things.
(The author is an associate professor of economics at the Beijing-based University of International Business and Economics. Shanghai Daily condensed the article. His e-mail: johngong@gmail.com)
As expected, initial evidence seems to point to human errors as the main cause, as in most rail and aviation accidents. No doubt the Ministry of Railways is facing a crisis of public trust.
The debut of the Beijing-Shanghai high speed railway is mired in delay after delay. Three days after I said in a previous article in this newspaper ("All hail fast and fancy railyway but is it safe to ride?") that at least the MOR's safety record is decent, setting side those weather-related glitches, this tragic accident comes as a slap in the face.
Let's first not deny this fact. Until the former railways boss Liu Zhijun was sacked by the central government, the MOR was indeed riddled with corruption. These charges inevitably lead to quality, safety and reliability questions about its high-speed railway program.
Any extra penny that landed in Liu's stinky pocket is one penny less of quality, safety and reliability for the riding public. The development of the critical train-control system, which was one of the major components that failed in the July 23 accident, was led by Liu's right-hand man, Mr Zhang Shuguang who is also in jail right now on corruption charges.
There is no doubt that the MOR is a huge mess right now. Yet I still want to be the MOR's apologist - unpaid apologist. And let me lay out the reasons why the MOR is still worth our votes.
First, for those of us frequently commuting between Beijing and Shanghai and who are tired of flight delays and fares that fly higher than their planes, the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway is still a pretty good bargain.
Second, the public needs to manage its expectations of the high-speed railway. On this issue, the MOR probably has itself to blame by overselling the concept.
High-speed rail is a new technology in China after all, and the MOR is introducing this technology amid the greatest railway expansion in history. As we lament the loss of lives in the recent accident and pray for those who are still in hospital, let's also give the MOR some time to straighten out things.
(The author is an associate professor of economics at the Beijing-based University of International Business and Economics. Shanghai Daily condensed the article. His e-mail: johngong@gmail.com)
- 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.
