Traveling by train has become the first choice of the majority of Chinese as it is cheap,comfortable and quick with China increasing its train speed four times since 1997.
According to official statistics, the number of passengers has increased from 920 million in 1997 to 980 million last year and there have been a record number of long-distance passengers.
China's railway profits have increased by 83.8 billion yuan (10.13 billion U.S. dollars) in four years.
Li Lianlin, a 28-year-old businessman from
Chongqing Municipality, says "I haven't traveled by train for years because it used to be slow and dirty with an unpleasant smell in the carriage."
But, everything was different when he traveled from
Chongqing to
Beijing recently. There were shining windows, a comfortable sleeper with bed lamp over head, electronic screen installed on each side of every carriage and announcements giving information such as the weather forecast and the time of arrival at the next station, which most passengers are interested in.
"The most important change is that now you feel at home on the train," he adds.
Chinese trains for a long time were described as "snails" as they used to run at speeds of 50 to 80 km per hour. In addition passengers often complained about the poor service.
The market has changed Chinese railways. With the rapid growth of highway and aviation industries, the Chinese railway system underwent a crisis in recent years.
Train speeds were increased in 1997. Today the fastest speed is 140 km per hour, 40 percent faster than that in early 1990s.
Speed brings benefits to passengers and there are many facilities and services provided for passengers on modern trains.
Li found a small bag to hold a mobile phone in the train toilet. He was able to rent a small laser VCD player for entertainment, at a cost only 10 yuan (about 1.2 U.S. dollars) per hour.
"It can make the long journey more interesting, said a train staff member, adding, "I hope you have a pleasant memory of traveling by train." Li was indeed impressed by his recent experience.
A slogan on the train hits the mark by saying: "We can't shorten the distance, but we can save time for you."(Xinhua News Agency)
