The Everyday Rail English campaign has been behind improvements to how China learns and uses English for rail services. As part of this win-win effort, international travellers trust it to help them get from A to B effortlessly, and for China, the improvement of English language services makes it easier to connect with customers and improve its overall global image.

Beijing-Shanghai HSR Improvement Campaign

In late 2016 and early 2017, the railways embarked on a mission, now that HSR development was picking up steam again, to improve the nation’s High Speed network. The busy and popular Beijing-Shanghai HSR was singled out as the line of choice.

Throughout late 2016 and all of 2017, tangible efforts were made to improve English at the majority of stations on the route. These include:

  • multiple Rail English sessions and partial signage improvements to Beijing South Railway Station
  • Rail English sessions for Tianjin West station, which manages stations in Hebei, Tianjin, and northern Shandong
  • introduction of bilingual signage on displays for Ji’nan West Railway Station and stations to Zaozhuang
  • multiple Rail English sessions for stations managed by China Railway Shanghai, including Xuzhou East, Nanjing South, and stations in Wuxi, Suzhou, and Kunshan

The Rail English signage on platforms, introduced to Ji’nan West, has become a permanent part of newer stations in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong. There, tailored display signage advise customers to mind the gap, stand clear of the white line, and, for intermediate stations, warn riders that trains at full speed may suddenly pass the station without warning.

Qingdao Improvement Campaign

In 2018, to prepare for a number of events, including the SCO summit, David was called to improve Rail English for Qingdao railway crew — both onboard and at stations.

These included a full refresh and upgrade of platform displays, introducing bilingual signage which was already part of other stations in Shandong. They also included a number of sessions for rail crew. Most importantly, electronic display signage at the ticket office at Qingdao’s main station was made bilingual, so to make sure international travellers were waiting in the right queue.

In addition to improving English for the city of Qingdao itself, cities close to the area also were part of David’s Rail English improvements, including Weifang.

Shanghai Import/Export Expo Improvement Campaign

In 2018, Shanghai was to host China’s inaugural Import/Export Expo. To prepare China’s most international megalopolis for the event, David worked full-time with both station and onboard staff.

Signage at Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station was completely refreshed, with many new signs using David’s Rail English norms. For customers on trains, the Rail Service Guide was partially refreshed with easier-to-understand language, both for High Speed and Sleeper trains.

Both onboard and station staff were given Rail English training sessions. Pre-recorded content was also distributed internally within the rail crew intranet.

Beijing 2022 Improvement Campaign

For the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, preparation began early, when in autumn 2019, David was asked by management for onboard services for Beijing-Zhangjiakou trains to improve English language services. David’s norms became part of onboard staff official curriculum.

David rendered the most complete set of language services for the Winter Olympics and Paralympics, including:

  • regular, and repeated, sessions, online and offline, for onboard and station staff
  • improving signage at key stations, including Qinghe hub and Badaling Great Wall station
  • devising an optimal, customised bilingual solution for the long “down” escalators for customers at Badaling Great Wall Railway Station, which included safety messages, platform information, and others
  • operating an on-call WeChat group for Olympic and Paralympic Bubble staff to solve any issues during the Games
  • providing authoritative translations and language services as part of the official curriculum for rail staff during Winter Games

Unfortunately, with the hardline Zero Covid policy making internal travel in China more and more cumbersome, as well as the delaying or cancellation of other global events for China, services for key events in China to come have been suspended until the Zero Covid policy is abandoned.