An attendant looks out a train station in Guanling, Guizhou province. Guanlin is one of the stations on the Shanghai-Kunming high-speed railway. [Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily]

ALL 18 OF THE LOCAL BUREAUS affiliated to the former Ministry of Railways, which was transformed into China Railway Corporation in March four years ago, have now been converted into companies. Beijing News comments:

Changing the railway bureaus into companies is only the first step of reform. But the transformation from being government departments to corporate entities is an important one.

The reform is expected to improve the CRC's efficiency, management and services.

As some insiders have disclosed, the corporation is engaged in intensive and wide restructuring efforts, and it is seeking the employees' understanding of and support for the changes.

This means it is time for the huge number of railway employees to bid farewell to the "iron bowl" and the sense of privilege they enjoy－for about half a century, working for the railways has provided employees with cradle-to-tomb welfare.

The railway employees should realize that the corporate reform gives them more autonomy and freedom to make better use of the market and their strengths, which was not possible previously for the ministry or bureaus.

Reportedly, the CRC is negotiating with Alibaba, Tencent, SF Express and some other big-name private corporations on possible cooperation, showing that the decision-makers in the company have already opened their minds to reform.

Statistics show the CRC has the use rights for more than 300 million square meters of land nationwide. And the government will continue to invest heavily in the construction of high-speed railways and the upgrading of old railways. If it can make good use of its potential and advantages, while making breakthroughs in its internal institutional reforms, CRC has enough reasons to guarantee its employees bright prospects.