Chinese preemie takes ill? [By Jiao Haiyang/China.org.cn]

Arguably, the debut of the much expected, much celebrated world's longest and fastest high-speed railway - the Beijing-Shanghai bullet train service - was a flop.

Malfunctions and glitches that resulted in hours of delay for passengers in sealed-window compartments in total darkness and without air-conditioning in hot summer certainly rack the nerves of passengers. But such incidents happened five times in six days.

We are told to be proud of this technology feast as the epitome of Chinese innovation. Yet as a likely frequent rider of this railway route, I first need to ponder: Is the damn thing safe after all?

I understand the introduction of any new technology has a learning curve. Things take time to get stabilized and perfected. Few flight passengers of today's huge fleets of sleek, fast jumbo jets riding with speed and luxury are aware of nascent days of commercial aviation. The safety record of the world's first airliners is certainly not for the faint of heart. Compared to that, at least we should be thankful to the Ministry of Railways (MOR) for its safety record so far.

Yet in the back of my mind, I have this little thought bothering me. The railway was built in a breakneck speed in about just two years. Some of the construction work is done around the clock in three-shift schedules. The guy who started all this and was leading the Ministry for a long time is now in jail for allegedly accepting bribes and for alleged involvement with other corruption related to this railway's construction.

The MOR was initially touting services of up to 380 km per hour, but my last ride on it was averaging way less than 300 kmph. The MOR's explanation is that lower speed enables use of cheaper trains and extends the railway's life expectancy. On the Internet, a railway expert who claims to have inside information about this railway's construction process said that he would never take a ride because of safety concerns.

Now I still have a lot of faith in the MOR. But when you piece together all those things I just mentioned, one can't help thinking about the possibility of shoddy construction that may take its toll one day.

It may not happen any time soon, but like Hangzhou's Qianjiang bridge, which partly collapsed several days ago after only 14 years of service, god knows how many years down the road before sections of the railway start to collapse.

Granted, fortune-telling of mishaps is condemned in Chinese culture. But I would rather be the devil's advocate if this can arouse some alarm in the railway's managing authority about its safety issues.

Please, please, China can't afford to have this railway fail, after hundreds of billions of dollars thrown into it.

Another issue that has surfaced after all these flops is the MOR's own public relations flop. When malfunctions and delays hit, we have passengers locked in compartments without AC and lighting for a long time.

They have a right to be informed of what is going on. They have the right to be comforted with news that at least they are in safe hands. But unfortunately nothing is explained. This is an area that leaves much room for improvement for Railway Ministry.

The MOR has set the bar high. It is positioning this railway as the model of a competitive solution to the aviation option between cities along the Beijing-Shanghai corridor.

But to be on par with the airline service is not just about ridership comfort and beautiful attendants. Crisis management is also something that needs close attention.

The author is an associate professor of economics at the Beijing-based University of International Business and Economics. His e-mail: johngong@gmail.com.

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