Safety must come first

gzlaser

Traveling by train during the Spring Festival is a big headache for many.

ON January 13, a female college student was killed by an incoming train at the Wuhu Railway Station in Anhui after she was knocked off the platform onto the tracks by swarming passengers. The tragic accident is causing a great deal of controversy in this Spring Festival travel period.

Many commentators blamed the death of the young girl on rude and disorderly passengers. But this criticism misses the point. The poor quality of railway service is the real villain. Even the most well-educated and well-behaved people can lose their self-control in our chaotic, dirty and poorly managed train stations. The passengers might not have been so ill-behaved if they were waiting at an airport. Airlines and airports have their problems, but an air ticket is a binding contract, and passengers would be compensated one way or another if the flight is late or cancelled. Railway services, however, are much worse, making passengers anxious and angry.

In this modern world, it is simply unimaginable that people should have to risk their lives catching a train. On the surface, it seems poor safety standards are to blame for the accident, but the real reason is that railway operators are ignoring the welfare of low-income people. They have been focusing too much in recent years on raising the speed of trains that serve high-end customers, and making profits. The government should take action to solve the traveling problems of lower-income people during peak seasons.