China's High-Speed Rails Praised

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• published: 03 Aug 2011
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Follow us on TWITTER: http://twitter.com/cnforbiddennews Like us on FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/chinaforbiddennews Before the rail signal system issue behind the Wenzhou rail accident has been resolved, Guangzhou Railway Group already announced the opening of the section from Guangzhou to Shenzhen. The Yong-Wen section, where the accident took place, has had a 117.6% ridership after being re-opened. Scholars point out that this is the government's indifference regarding human lives. Some point out that the Ministry of Railways is a corrupt vested interest group and should be reformed. Not even 10 days after the Wenzhou train accident, before some victims were buried, the Ministry of Railways announced on its website, to "ensure the high-standard and high-quality service of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen section of the high-speed rail." "Guangzhou Railway Group will treat the rail's safety during Shenzhen's 2011 Universiade as a political mission." Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong railroad's signal system, CTCS, is the same system as the Wenzhou line. Both were developed by Beijing National Railway Research & Design Institute of Signal & Communication, subsidiary of China Railway Signal & Communication Corp. Ministry of Railways announced that since July 27, they had been inspecting the signal system. The Guang-Shen-Hong railway is also under inspection. The announcement of the opening of Guang-Shen section has drawn many doubtful concerns. Veteran journalist Gao Yu believes the flaws in the high-speed rail technologies, combined with an inadequate signal system, created the recent rear-end accident. Running trains before fixing the signal system while ignoring the glaring issues, is not what a responsible government would do. Gao Yu, "Running the trains before a full investigation had already angered many people. Now, using the same system to service the 2011 Universiade, no doubt that would lead to some concerns." "It would be considered lucky if nothing happens during the Universiade." A few years ago, after the Japanese Amagasaki rail crash, Japan spent 26 days on just the rail track inspection. 55 days after the full investigation was conducted the traffic was resumed. Scholar Wu Zuolai believes that the Ministry of Railways is a monopoly and interest group. It has many internal issues, and neglects human lives. It needs to be reformed. Wu Zuolai, "There are many issues in the Railway Ministry, because it's a monopoly. It's a fuzzy mix of government and private enterprises. It should be reformed into a corporation, instead of being turned into a corrupt interest group under the government. Regarding the Wenzhou crash, the Propaganda Department issued threes bans to all media, ordering them to only report positive news and government news releases. Gao Yu believes the reason the government can cover things up and disregard people's interest is the fact that people do not have the right to vote. Also, the "Great Leap Forward of Railways" is more than a disregard for human life. Gao Yu, "The Chinese model is the need of the elite, the party and the bureaucratic bourgeoisie. It is not needed by the people." Tong Dahuan, renowned journalist and review editor of China Insurance News, says that we shouldn't grind human lives into the system. Tong Dahuan, "the reason they are still running the train is, in order to fully inspect the system with a strict standard, they would have to shut down all the empty trains. They aren't willing to do this." It was reported that under the vigorous pushing of the Ministry of Railways, the Yong-Wen line resumed traffic on July 25, three days after the accident. The number of passengers on the first two days were 156,253, with a seat occupancy ratio of 117.6% 65 trains were running on July 26, and the seat occupancy ratio was 138.4%. Wu Zuolai believes the reason people willing to ride the trains is the special treatment received by high-speed trains. Comparing to high-speed trains, regular trains are slower, so there are reasons for the crowded high-speed trains. But he believes that they should stop using the products involved in the accident until a full investigation is conducted. NTD reporters Qin Xue, Song Feng and Xiao Yu 《神韵》2011世界巡演新亮点 http://www.ShenYunPerformingArts.org/