Railway authorities to be overhauled

Railway authorities across China will be overhauled with the establishment of seven regional supervision and management bureaus, Chinese media reported on Thursday.

Railway supervision and management bureaus will be set up in Shenyang, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, Xi'an as well as Lanzhou, sources close to the State Railways Administration told the Southern Metropolis Daily.

During this year's session of the National People's Congress in March, the Ministry of Railways was dismantled. Most of its administrative functions were transferred to the newly founded administration under the Ministry of Transport, and China Railway Corp has taken over its commercial functions.

The 18 railway bureaus and companies that belong to the former Ministry of Railways will be merged into the seven new bureaus as well as the regional operations of the China Railway Corp, the newspaper said.

The State Railways Administration will have 130 employees and seven departments, the report said. The head of the administration is Lu Dongfu, who was vice-minister of railways from 2003 until the ministry was dissolved.

Other high-ranking leaders will take new posts in China Railway Corp.

A total of 14 responsibilities of the former railway ministry will be abolished to streamline the work of the State Railways Administration, sources said.