China’s New Year rail travel: The need for speed?
FEATURE |
BEIJING — Getting home for Chinese New Year used to mean squeezing into rundown trains that creak their way through the countryside.
But this year, many are opting for the comfort and ever-expanding network of China’s high-speed trains, even if it means paying on average more than three times more — sparking concern the not-so-wealthy are losing out.
“High-speed trains do not benefit middle- and low-income segments of the population,” Zhao Jian, a professor at the Economy Management Institute of Beijing Jiaotong University, told AFP.
They might benefit rich people, giving them another travel option. But we build railways to promote economic development, not to serve one particular group of people.”.... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110203com8.html
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