Slow trains can be a lifeline for rural residents
When talking about China's railway trains, people nowadays are usually impressed with their high speed and rapid development.
However, there are still some low-speed trains serving the people in need in some areas in China such as the train 4182 which runs in northern China, CNR reported.
When mountains are closed up with heavy snow, the train, from Mangui to Hailar in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, will become the first choice of locals. Many residents take the train to see doctors, thus it has been dubbed the "Lifeline" by locals.
Sometimes, the train seems like a "mobile school," as so many children take the train to go to school.
Train 4182 has 31 stops and takes 12 and a half hours to finish the 523-kilometer journey. The fare for the whole journey is just 37 yuan (US$5.46) with some short journeys costing passengers just 1 yuan.
As inhabitants along the way are scattered, sometimes only one passenger gets on while there can be no one at others. But no matter what, the train will always stop at each station and wait for one minute.
Train conductor Zhang Suoyou, who has served on the train for 14 years, is familiar with almost every passenger.
Zhang, who used to take the train to go to school, says he'll keep working on it as long as it still runs.