Feminine-hygiene products and their sale on high-speed trains are under the severe scrutiny of China’s unforgiving online community, after one lady was recently unable to get what she needed on a train. Fortunately, another train out of Nanjing has revived reputations, to an extent.
The lady in question’s frustrations were both physical and mental, on account of the obvious and the explanation given to her by the train’s customer service officer. The lady was told that sanitary pads are personal items and as such are not offered for sale on the train.
Taking to social media to vent, among the many hundreds of thousands who viewed her post was another lady, who then posted a photo of a sanitary pad she had bought on a train. Her photo clearly shows the product, also known as sanitary towels or napkins, as marked as being for sale on high-speed trains, reports The World Journal.
The train in question offering them was a “D”-class, high-speed train service from Nanjing to Ganzhou in Jiangxi Province, passing through Shanghai, Hangzhou, Fuzhou, Xiamen and other cities.
So why the disparity? Why do some trains in China sell sanitary pads and others don’t, especially given their universal necessity?
The reason lies in the way the China Railways is organised. Here in Nanjing, our trains fall under the jurisdiction of the China Railway Shanghai Group, which manages trains operating throughout the Yangtze River Delta and beyond.
They, together with the seven other railway groups in China, make the decision has to what is sold on trains in their particular patch of the country, together with the design of staff uniforms and what kind of meals are served. And what kinds of other things are sold on board.
But there is no standardised policy across the country as to the offering of sanitary pads. At present, though, some trains within the Shanghai Group have indeed initiated their sale.
Elsewhere, high-speed trains operating between Chengdu City of Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality have a transparent box which acts as a shop. It offers reading glasses, data cables, sewing boxes and yes, sanitary pads, among other supplies.
Similarly, on trains run by the China Railway Kunming Group, sanitary pads are considered as “daily necessities” and cost ¥6 per pack. Together with lunch boxes, mineral water and paper towels, they are top selling items, second only to playing cards.
