The price of high-speed ambitions

[twocents]

I am all in favor of a thorough investigation of what caused the accident. Everything from the design, awarding of contracts and the training of staff will have to be examined. The fact that the former minister of railway was removed a few months ago should indicate there are issues of corruption as well. However, the development of high speed railway will continue. It is part of China's grand effort to move up the value chain.

 

[indushek]

One failure doesn't mean we have to criticize the whole system!!!! I am sure the Chinese will thoroughly investigate and bounce back with further safety measures.

 

[NiceGuy]

hehe, we knew that : CHina high speed rail is dumb, that why we refused to let CHina build that Rail in VIetNam. CHina surely will get more and more debt and problem with this dumb rail.

It's beeter to build more air port than making this idiot bullet train .

 

[harpoon]

hehe, we knew that : CHina high speed rail is dumb, that why we refused to let CHina build that Rail in VIetNam. CHina surely will get more and more debt and problem with this dumb rail.

It's beeter to build more air port than making this idiot bullet train .

Sorry to disagree with you pal. For a middle income country with a huge population, trains are the way to go and the faster it is better for the passengers. Also trains help the skies from being choking up.

This accident made headlines because its a bullet train. If it was a normal train nobody would have blinked an eye.

 

[NiceGuy]

Sorry to disagree with you pal. For a middle income country with a huge population, trains are the way to go and the faster it is better for the passengers. Also trains help the skies from being choking up.

This accident made headlines because its a bullet train. If it was a normal train nobody would have blinked an eye.

As we know, air ticket is even cheaper than bullet train ticket, and bullet train is only capable for short transportation.We also have enough money to build it, but our people refused coz it just a waste with very High maintenance cost.

Poor Chinese can not use bullet train coz it's too expensive, so it won't help poor CHinese to have better trasportation in future.

 

[harpoon]

As we know, air ticket is even cheaper than bullet train ticket, and bullet train is only capable for short transportation.We also have enough money to build it, but our people refused coz it just a waste with very High maintenance cost.

Poor Chinese can not use bullet train coz it's too expensive, so it won't help poor CHinese to have better trasportation in future.

I doubt that. If the Air ticket is cheaper than Bullet train ticket, then no one is going to travel by bullet train making the whole endeavor of building it a futile attempt in the first place.

Bullet train is a high maintenance transportation sector and its not for every one but there is no doubt that it will prevent congestion of skies as well as normal trains as there is a high chance that 1st class passengers of normal trains will opt for bullet trains freeing up more seats in the former for ordinary passengers.

Also most metros, railways etc around the world barely break even let alone make profit. In most cases the govt steps in to help these institutions...Why? because a goods train (in India ) replaces almost 200-300 normal lorries on the road reducing traffic congestion and also saves fuel thus saving foreign currency for national exchequer.

 

[erwa]

hehe, we knew that : CHina high speed rail is dumb, that why we refused to let CHina build that Rail in VIetNam. CHina surely will get more and more debt and problem with this dumb rail.

It's beeter to build more air port than making this idiot bullet train .

Railway traffic is more energy saving compared to air traffic, and we can drive it with green power rather than oil which someday will use out. As for china, the top one population country, it is a wise policy to develop highspeed train, so think more widely then make a conclution

 

[Xi'an_ist]

As we know, air ticket is even cheaper than bullet train ticket, and bullet train is only capable for short transportation.We also have enough money to build it, but our people refused coz it just a waste with very High maintenance cost.

Poor Chinese can not use bullet train coz it's too expensive, so it won't help poor CHinese to have better trasportation in future.

Incomes and wages are rising fast in China and there are still many people who choose HSR over air flights in China.

This picture was taken in Beijing South Station a few days after the disaster when HSR was put back in operation.

 

[T90TankGuy]

i feel the article is somewhat biased . i have heard a lot of these nay sayers up in arms if something happens . we are human and while loss of life is regrettable , there are no fool proofs ways of ensuring any thing is one hundred percent safe . there is a saying " if something can go wrong , it will."

 

[jbond197]

China train crash: Design flaws to blame - safety chief

A crash between two high-speed trains in China that killed 40 people was caused by serious design flaws, the country's safety chief has said.

Luo Lin, who is heading the inquiry into the crash, said the accident near Wenzhou was "completely avoidable".

Mr Luo did not say whether the flaws were in the trains, or the wider rail system. Officials earlier said a signal failure may have been to blame.

The accident has led to an unprecedented public outcry.

The high-speed rail network is a flagship project of China's Communist rulers, who have overseen the construction of the world's largest such infrastructure over the past four years.

But the project hit problems earlier this year with a corruption scandal.

And the Wenzhou crash has led many Chinese to accuse the government of putting politics and profits before safety.

Ambitions dented

Mr Luo, who is director of the State Administration of Work Safety, was quoted in state media as saying there were "serious flaws in the system design that led to an equipment failure".

"At the same time, this exposed problems in emergency response and safety management after the failure occurred," he said.

"This was a major accident involving culpability, that could have been totally avoided."

Mr Luo is heading a panel charged with investigating the crash.

The panel itself has already been the subject of criticism.

Earlier this month, the state-run Global Times published an interview with one of the inquiry panel members who appeared to be unaware of his exact role, or the remit of the inquiry.

On Wednesday, the government reshuffled the panel, removing two officials from the railway ministry - the department that has borne the most criticism from the public.

Beijing hopes to export its high-speed rail expertise across the world, but analysts say the Wenzhou crash has dented those ambitions.

Officials are carrying out a safety review of existing lines, and have put a freeze on the approval of new projects while safety standards are re-evaluated.

On Friday, state-owned train manufacturer CNR announced it was recalling 54 bullet trains that operate on the Beijing-Shanghai line.

Good, that the faulty designed bullet trains are recalled. It's not worth risking human lives to test a design.