China's Ministry of Railways has been stripped of its powers to hear transport cases in its own courts.
In a move welcomed by critics of the ministry's power, the jurisdiction of the China Court of Railway Transportation has been transferred to local governments.
'It is a step to show the market that the Railways Ministry is starting to reform,' said Guotai Junan analyst Gary Wong.
Echoing these sentiments, Richard di Bona, who runs a transport consultancy in Hong Kong, said reform of the once all-powerful ministry would now be easier. 'With the change of leadership in China there may now be a root-and-branch overhaul of many parts of the Chinese government, including the Railways Ministry,' he said.
The first judicial transfer occurred in January, when the Railways Ministry's 'procuratorate' in Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi province, was transferred to the Shanxi provincial government.
On the mainland, a procuratorate is a judicial body that investigates and prosecutes legal cases, while supervising courts and punishments. Two months later the Railways Ministry's procuratorate in Beijing was transferred to the Beijing municipal government, and last month the law courts and procuratorates of the Railways Ministry in Jiangsu, Gansu and Qinghai provinces were also transferred to the respective provincial governments.