Better monitoring needed for train safety

Employees from CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co Ltd conduct an inspection on an electric multiple unit train in Zhuzhou, Hunan province. [Photo/Xinhua]

One person was killed and eight others injured when a train on the Southern Line running from Guiyang, Guizhou province, to Guangzhou, Guangdong province, hit a mudslide near Rongjiang station in Rongjiang, Guizhou, and derailed on Saturday.

However, a bigger tragedy was averted, because the train's driver, Yang Yong, applied the brakes just in time. The train rolled for 900 meters after going off the rails and came to a stop without turning over.

Unfortunately, Yang, who helped save so many lives in what was no less than a heroic deed, himself died. One's natural instinct would make one cave in on seeing a huge pile of mudslide on the track, but Yang displayed exemplary courage and stuck to his job by applying the brakes.

Some might argue that Yang did what was expected of him, but those who are able to do their jobs at critical moments and save lives are nothing less than heroes. On Aug 16, 2021, Wang Jian, a bus driver in Beijing, suffered a heart attack on duty and spent the last three minutes of his life bringing the bus safely to a stop by pulling the hand brake; On July 18, 2021, another bus driver, Song Zhimin in Guang'an, Sichuan province, did the same.

Of course, Yang's heroic deed does not change the fact that it was an accident. More needs to be done to improve train safety.

Reports say that 15 minutes before the mudslide, another train had crossed the track, which means the mudslide came all of a sudden. It might be advisable to improve the monitoring system so that it is possible to alert approaching trains of such dangers in a timely manner.