China’s rail authority ripe for pruning

China's Ministry of Railways (MOR) may merge with the Ministry of Transport later this year, the 21st Century Business Herald reported Tuesday, citing an insider from the MOR. As of yet though, neither ministry has officially commented on the matter.

The MOR was established in 1949 to help the newly founded People's Republic of China accomplish one of its first development goals: expanding the national railway network.

Yet, over the past several decades, many of the MOR's duties have overlapped with those being carried out by the Ministry of Transport, stoking public resentment about the inefficiency of the government and the need for planners to streamline the country's sprawling bureaucracy.

If planners choose to reshuffle the country's existing government organs, they should start with the MOR. This relic from a bygone era has not only found itself mired in debt, but has proven largely incapable for improving rail travel or controlling rail logistics costs.

The author is Wang Youcao, a media personality.

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