High-speed rail is but one facet of progress to come
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Global Times, July 12, 2011
For those who have never seen the point of high-speed rail, the delay of Beijing-Shanghai high-speed trains Monday, 10 days after their official launch, will certainly become another focal point of criticism.
Despite the fact that the delay was due to a power failure caused by a big storm, public opinion has been overwhelmed with the overall failure of the pioneering line.
The disappointment is obvious and understandable. But when a problem like this emerges, it is more important to reflect on the matter rather than ridicule it wholesale over one accident.
For years, there have been disputes over the building of the railway in China. These reached boiling point with the sacking of Liu Zhijun, the former railways minister, who had been a key advocate of high-speed rail in China. This obviously dimmed the overall scenario and reinforced doubts and criticism.
The doubts have generally revolved over technological capability, the necessity of building the railway, the safety of traveling at such high speeds, expensive tickets and the debt levels incurred by such large-scale investments.
These are legitimate questions, but the development of high-speed rail remains of great significance to China.
It will inject vitality into economic development, increase employment, provide a solid basis for long-term economic growth and help create a more efficient society.
Particularly due to population expansion and continuous industrialization, the world at large is faced with a shortage of energy resources. In this sense, a high-speed rail system running on electricity represents the future direction of energy usage.
Hope and fear always mix ahead of big projects in China. The building of the Three Gorges Dam is a typical example. It is regarded as both a miracle of modern architecture and a potential threat to the environment and the health of local residents. High-speed rail is no exception.
China cannot go back to the days when people swarmed to take the slow but cheap trains prior to the 1990s. If the high-speed rail meets with general acknowledgment, it is no good to look solely at its negatives and wait to mock its problems without trying to solve them.
It is natural to find problems which need ironing out with new projects that easily attract doubts and suspicion. But they need room for improvement. In 1814, George Stephenson invented the steam locomotive. It was ugly and cumbersome and slow. The audience laughed when a cart easily overtook it. How has the world been changed by the advent of the train since then?
China is moving forward. In the future, more big projects will be needed for its development. Chinese society should support these, rather than focus on mishaps during their development. Or it will be no time to break open the champagne.
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