Recently, a news about a train being stopped for nearly 5 hours has sparked widespread attention on the internet. The topic quickly made it to the hot search list.
It was discovered by some mainland Chinese netizens that train D4982 from Shenzhen to Chongqing stopped at Huaihua Nan Station for a whopping 292 minutes.
In response to this, the customer service staff at 12306 explained that due to track maintenance, the train has a longer stop time in the early hours. If passengers find this time too long, they can choose other trains for their journey.
This incident made it to the hot search list on November 18, triggering numerous netizens to express their frustrations.
Blogger “Ordinary Vision” wrote that for passengers who chose train D4982, their expectation of a convenient travel experience was greatly diminished by the excessively long stop at Huaihua Nan Station. Imagine, after a long journey with all its bumps and shakes, passengers finally arrive at a station, eagerly anticipating to continue their journey swiftly, only to be informed they have to wait for nearly 5 hours. For passengers in a hurry, these 5 hours are undoubtedly torturous. They may end up missing important business meetings, losing out on precious moments with family, or disrupting meticulously planned travel itineraries.
The article mentioned that in this incident, poor communication exacerbated passengers’ dissatisfaction. Many passengers were not informed in advance when purchasing tickets that the train would have such a long stop at Huaihua Nan Station, only finding out after boarding. This asymmetry of information made passengers feel blindsided, leading to a sense of mistrust towards the railway department.
“The railway department should improve information dissemination and communication. Let passengers make informed choices before purchasing tickets. During the train journey, train staff can use broadcasting and other methods to promptly update passengers on the train’s operation and stop arrangements, answer their questions, and alleviate passengers’ anxiety.”
Netizen “Travel Expert”: Temporary train stops can be understood, but transparency in information and emergency services must catch up. With nearly five hours of waiting, passengers are not even clear about the basic reasons, showing that the railway department’s communication mechanism needs improvement.
“Regular Commuter”: I have also encountered similar situations, with a two-hour stop and train staff being clueless. Railway operations may have malfunctions, but transparent communication and basic services should not be part of the “malfunction.”