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Make train journeys affordable

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-28 08:06

Shanghai Railway Station began accepting group ticket reservations for students from Dec 19. But high-speed train fares are almost double that for ordinary trains, forcing some students to opt for buses to travel back home, says an article in Xinhua Daily Telegraph. Excerpts:

High-speed trains, no doubt, have reduced traveling time in China. But tickets for high-speed trains are too expensive for ordinary folks, especially migrant workers and students, to afford, forcing them to take buses.

Spring Festival is by far the most profitable season for the railways. But with only high-speed, high-fare trains running on some routes, fewer students and migrant workers are likely to avail of their services this season.

Moreover, high-speed trains have been canceled on some routes because of unavoidable circumstances. For example, in April the Hankou-Qingdao and the Beijing-Fuzhou were canceled because the two sections didn't get enough passengers.

Indeed, the railways have to make profit, but since trains are part of public services it has to consider people's livelihood, too. It should solicit public opinion before raising ticket prices or introducing high-speed trains on a route to check whether the majority of people can afford them.

The railways should learn from other countries' experience. Compared with the purchasing power of Japanese citizens, the cost of traveling on the Beijing-Fuzhou route is several times higher. Therefore, it is important for the authorities to make traveling on trains more "common people friendly".