Train chaos puts crisis management in question(3)

POOR INFORMATION

Snow and ice in south China caused enormous delays at Guangzhou Railway Station in 2008.

Since then, the Guangzhou government and the rail company have become more experienced in handling passenger overload, said a public management expert. "But their performance in informing the public is far from satisfactory."

"The train information is slow, unclear and poor channeled," said Cai Lihui, a professor of governance at Sun Yat-sen University.

"Train suspensions and delays began early in the morning, but the passengers had no idea which services were affected until nightfall," Cai said. "The rail company didn't make use of the Internet or mobile services."

Cai believes it is a matter of urgency for Chinese rail companies to build multi-channel information system, and to provide specific, clear train schedules.

Peng Peng, a senior researcher at Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences, urged the government improve coordination in such emergencies.

"It's understandable that the rail company should focus on repairing broken tracks and taking care of the passengers inside the station. It might be beyond its capacity to keep the public space outside the station under control. The government should help."

Huang thought a full refund was not enough, "We should have compensation for the inconvenience."

China dissolved its Railway Ministry earlier this year, and the ministry's commercial functions were taken over by the China Railway Corporation.

"The rail company should pay more attention to customers, and work out compensation packages for suspension and delay," Peng said.