One of the top engineers from the railways in China said that travelling by train could become more expensive than flying, after the reform of railway authorities in the country. The Deputy Chief engineer of the China Railway Tunnel Group and a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering – Wang Mengshu, has predicted that the debt built up by the Railway Ministry will lead to a rise in fares.
The cost of the railway freight has not been increased for around 30 years, but this will end after the establishment of the China Railway Corp. Mengshu also added that it is likely to construct the most profitable railways, rather than the most needed. This year Wang also spoke about the issue at the National People’s Congress, which ended on March 17, 2013.
The ministry of railways was dismantled during the session, which was established in 1949. Commercial functions have been taken over by the China Railway Corp and administrative functions have been taken care of by the Ministry of Transport.
The new reform was made after public criticism that the Railway Ministry worked as a policy maker as well as a service provider. In regards to the debt, Wang said that most of it was formed due to the rapid expansion of the high speed rail.
