Debts spark calls to split up China railway corp

The company should be divided into several firms, expert says

Mounting debts at State-owned China Railway Corp Group have sparked calls to split up the country's main railway service provider. A railway expert said on Friday the central government should divide the CRC into several regional companies with a shareholding structure to maintain a healthy growth.

Total liabilities of the CRC stood at 4.14 trillion yuan ($636.73 billion) by the first quarter of this year. The company had a deficit of 8.73 billion yuan between January and March of 2016, up 35 percent on a year-on-year basis, according to the CRC's audit report for the first quarter of 2016.